Captured by Words and Phrases
by irrelevant elephant
Summary: An American girl with a Japanese name is a new student at Light's school. This intrigues Light, and L especially. Will she be able to help with the Kira case? *I've changed some things to make it convenient for me to write this. Just a warning.
1. Name

Okay, so this is the first story I've put on fanfiction in a really long time. Feel free to give me constructive criticism or praise or whatever you feel I need to hear. Please enjoy! :)

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Chapter one - Name

Light Yagami, the most intelligent student at his high school, sat at his desk, his chin resting on his palm as he looked out the window next to him. Judging from the look on his face, anyone could guess that he was downright _bored_.

Completely ignoring his teacher's on-going lecture, he narrowed his cat-like eyes, feeling another pair on his back. Light glanced over his shoulder to see _her_, that girl, just staring at him again. He quickly turned his attention back to the teacher, his auburn eyes still glaring.

Hitomi Watanabe. What had he ever done to make her _obsess_ over him like that? Alright, so it wasn't _obsessing_, but nevertheless, it was irritating to see her all over school, just staring at him like no one's business. Light sighed. Just because he was popular _and_ intelligent didn't mean that she had the right to follow him wherever he went.

He glanced out the window again, cheek on palm, when the teacher cleared her throat: an attempt to bring her students back into the physical world.

"I have an announcement," she said, her monotone lecture voice replaced by a high-pitched, cheerful one. "I know it's only three weeks until graduation, but we have a new student." She smiled at the seemingly dead room of teenagers. "Her name is Hikaru Michiyuki, and she's from the city of Chicago in the United States--"

Light tuned out again to contemplate this. This girl, _Hikaru Michiyuki_, was from the U.S.? That didn't make sense. She had a Japanese name, but was coming from America. Well, there was a possibility of her living in Japan previously, or adoption. He narrowed his eyes in thought; he'd just have to see her to get a clearer answer.

As if on cue, a small girl walked in, donning the school uniform and looking quite nice in it. Her raven-coloured hair draped over her shoulders--Light guessed that the full length was about mid-back--and she scanned the room with her ocean-blue eyes as she walked. She reached the teacher and turned to face the class, bowing so that all her hair fell over her shoulders. "Hello, my name is Hikaru Michiyuki. It's very nice to meet you."

Light stared at her. This girl was not Japanese. He kept his eyes on her as he thought about his options. He knew that Hikaru couldn't be her real name...though she was speaking perfect Japanese. Had she heard about the Kira case and was using a fake name to protect herself? That was possible. Light smirked to himself, shaking his head a bit. Unless she was an ex-con from America, Kira wouldn't be killing her anytime soon. And even then, her real name would be broad casted instead of this one.

One of his classmates raised his hand, signifying that he had a question. "You're form the U.S., right?" he asked, keeping his arm in the air as he spoke. "Why do you have a Japanese name?"

Hikaru gave him a small smile, rocking back and forth on her heels. "Well, when we moved, my dad thought that changing all of our names would be a good adjustment for me, so I could fit in better."

Light narrowed his eyes again. That seemed like a good enough answer; it was definitely believable. But there was obviously something else to that story...

The teacher searched the room for an empty desk and glanced at Hikaru. "Michiyuki-san, why don't you sit next to Watanabe-san?" she said, pointing to the vacant seat next to Hitomi Watanabe.

Hikaru nodded and headed to said desk, passing by Light as she went. Her eyes locked with his, and he cracked a small smile at her. She smiled back, but hers was a friendly one that disappeared as Light whispered one word:

"Kira."


	2. Word

Okay, I didn't know how long I should wait to put up the next chapter. I've got, like, eight of them typed up already, so the next few will probably come pretty quickly. Anyway.

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Chapter two - Word

Hikaru sat at the desk next to Hitomi, feeling dazed and confused. Why had that boy said 'Kira' to her? Sure, 'Kira' was Japanese for 'killer', but also for 'sparkle'... He couldn't mean--

"Hey." The sudden word brought Hikaru out of her thoughts with a start. Hitomi was staring at her with an inquiring look on her face. "Are you okay, Michiyuki-san?"

"Well..." Hikaru placed a hand on her forehead; it felt warmer than average. "I-it's nothing, Watanabe-san." Her eyes wandered back to Light; she was staring at the back of his head now.

"Oh, feel free to call me Hitomi," she replied, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. "I don't like it when people call me by my last name; it's too formal."

Hikaru turned her attention back to Hitomi, observing her appearance. She was really pretty, having a soft chin and a small nose. Her eyes were a velvet-brown, and her hair looked as if it had been bleached. A rebel? Hikaru asked herself, a small smile coming to her lips. "Okay, Hitomi-chan. Can I ask you a quick question?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"That boy over there..." Hikaru pointed to Light, turning her eyes back onto him again. "Who is he?"

"Oh, him..." Hitomi said, sighing as she looked at him with a dreamy look on her face. "That's Light Yagami-kun, the smartest person in our year--he's top in our class and so hot!" She squealed slightly. "Every girl wants to date him, but he'll only go out with a girl once or twice." She sighed sadly. "And he's never even _consider_ going out with _me_..."

Hikaru ignored this last comment, concentrating her gaze on this boy, Light Yagami. Now that she knew he was intelligent--the most in their year--that helped with her mini-investigation. He must have realised that her name was fake, and related it to the international crisis of the Kira case. She smiled to herself, knowing that was it. But the fact that she had been taken aback when Light said the word 'Kira'...that had probably made it obvious to him that that was exactly why.

"Heyy," Hitomi said, feeling irritated as she poked the other girl's arm. "Do you want me to introduce you to him? You seem really interested in him, so..."

"Yes, I'd like that," Hikaru said, a small grin on her face. She'd definitely like to discuss the Kira case with him, especially since he had caught on so quickly. Her parents had been worried about her safety, since she had brought up the fact that the Japanese killer Kira could kill with a name and a face. And that was the honest truth: safety.

From then on, Hitomi and Hikaru kept quiet, paying attention to their teacher until the bell rang to end the school day.

Hitomi quickly gathered up her things and nodded curtly to Hikaru. "I've got to get home to watch my sister, Michiyuki-san, but I'll introduce you to Light-kun tomorrow, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she left the room, scrambling to get through the small group of students gathered by the door.

Hikaru laughed a bit at the other girl, covering her mouth to try and hide it. Hitomi Watanabe was quite an odd girl, and Hikaru liked her so far. She began gathering her own things to go home. She stopped immediately when a hand came down on her desk, making her look up in surprise. "You!"

Light Yagami smirked a bit at her, but his smile turned friendly, which made Hikaru feel slightly confused. "Hello, Michiyuki-san, it's a delight to have you in our class."

She stared, wide-eyed, up at him, speechless. Who was this boy? A con artist? A genius? What?


	3. Emotion

Here's a new chapter, guys. :D

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Chapter three - Emotion

"All right, start explaining," Hikaru said, narrowing her eyes as she looked up at Light. She wasn't going to give any mercy, no matter _what_ this man was up to.

"What are you talking about, Michiyuki-san?" Light replied, his auburn eyes gleaming. He had gotten her hyped up already...this was excellent. He shrugged his shoulders, trying to look clueless without giving himself away. "I was only welcoming you to our school."

"Like hell you were." There was no way Hikaru was going to fall for this act. "When I passed by you earlier, you said 'Kira' to me. So I figure either you meant the infamous Kira case, or you're gay."

Impressive. She'd caught on that quickly. But Light would take his initial, honest reaction anyway.

"Gay? What would make you think I'm gay?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. _Honestly_, just because she was from America didn't mean she could go around accusing people from a different country of being homosexual.

"'Kira' means 'sparkle', right?" Hikaru asked, taking her default personality and acting as if she and Light were friends. She tilted her head. "As far as I know, gay mean really like sparkles. I hate them." She stuck her tongue out in disapproval.

Light stared at her in slight shock. Had her personality changed? No, she had just let her guard down and became her "normal self". It he was going to try and "befriend" this girl, now was the perfect time. "Well. I've never met a girl that doesn't like sparkles."

"Yeah, I know, I'm weird like that." Hikaru grinned up at him, before realising that she was being friendly to hi. Her smile faded. "Yagami-kun, you're tricking me, aren't you?"

Right again. "Tricking you into what? Being my friend? Can't I be honest about that?" He sat down in the desk next to hers and looked directly into her eyes.

Hikaru squirmed, feeling uncomfortable. Was that how he wanted her to feel? Well...maybe she should play along with him, just to get more information about the Kira case; it was obvious that they were going to get there eventually. "W-well, I guess you can..." She let her voice trail off, trying to make it appear as if she was feeling embarrassed. She could act like a normal high school girl talking to a high school boy...and that would be perfect. Calm down.

Light's eyes narrowed slightly, and a smirk grew on his face. She was falling right into his trap. He reached for her hands, currently sitting in her lap. "You shouldn't be so mistrusting, Michiyuki-san," he said, making his voice sound soft and soothing. Light leaned closer to her, getting right in her space.

Hikaru sighed, trying to look away from him. Calm down, calm down. Her heart was beating so fast... She looked back at Light to see he was leaning closer to her even more. Was he trying to kiss her? Just go with it...

A loud 'BANG!' was heard as the closed classroom door was opened, slamming into the wall. Both Light and Hikaru jumped, turning to look at who it was.

"LIIIIIGHT!" came a loud call as a small blonde girl came into the room. She looked around, searching for the boy, and giggled when she found him. "There you are, Light!" She ran to him, jumping into his arms and cuddling with him.

_ Good thing we're the only ones in here,_ Hikaru thought, sweatdropping. She looked over the girl's appearance and raised and eyebrow. The girl's blonde hair was put up into two small pigtails, and Hikaru considered her to be very cute. She was dressed in Gothic Lolita clothing, which didn't seem to fit her personality at all.

After she was done loving on Light, she sat up and turned to Hikaru. "Hey, Light, who's she?" She looked back at Light, her cute face gaining an angry look. "You're not cheating on me, are you?"

Hikaru's jaw dropped as she stared at the other girl in shock. "You're...Light's girlfriend?!"


	4. Defeat

Hello, I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I kinda forgot that this existed. Hopefully it doesn't happen again though. :|

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Chapter four - Defeat

The blonde girl froze at Hikaru's question. She turned to look at her over her shoulder. "Yes, I am." She looked back at Light and put her hands on her hips. "So? Light, are you cheating on me with this hussy?"

Before Light could utter anything, Hikaru stood up and placed her hands on her own hips. "Hey! I am _no_ hussy! Today was my first day here and Yagami-kun was just talking to me about the school!" Oh no, was she really defending Light? No...she was just defending herself. Though, a few moments ago, it seemed like Light was trying to "get to know her better".

The blonde turned back to Light, hands still on her hips. "Is this true, Light? Were you really just talking to her about the school?"

Light groaned in annoyance, running a hand through his auburn hair. "_Yes_, Misa, we were. Why do women have to be so interrogating?" He pushed the girl off of him, shaking his head.

"Oh, Light..." She looked at Light, her eyes becoming wide in an attempt to make him feel sorry for her. "You're always so mean to me...but I love you anyway!" And with that,she jumped on him again, hugging him with all her might.

"Uhh, hellooo?" Hikaru grumbled, waving her hands. "This is making me feel awkward and confused." She lifted her leg and kicked the blonde right in the behind, making her fall off of Light again. "What the hell is Yagami-kun's girlfriend, whose name is still unknown to _me_, the new girl, doing at his school?"

"Well, _excuuuse me_ for coming to see my boyfriend after school," the girl said, sticking her tongue out at Hikaru. "And _I'm_ Misa Amane, since you were wondering. What's your name?"

"Hikaru Michiyuki," she replied coldly. Sure this Misa Amane was cute, and Light's girlfriend. But she was as annoying as _hell_! Not to mention super devoted to her jackass of a boyfriend.

"Hika...ru..." Misa repeated slowly, gazing off into space. She honestly looked as if someone had just given her the newest up-and-coming drug.

Light and Hikaru glanced at each other, both giving off a questioning look that pretty much meant, "What the hell is she doing?"

"Roo!" Misa's voice made the two students jump, once again. "I'll call you 'Roo', and you can call me 'Misa-Misa' if you want," she said, pointing at herself and grinning.

"Can't I just call you 'Misa'?" Hikaru grumbled, running her hand through her ebony hair in annoyance. Weren't they just bickering a moment ago? What happened?

"Oh, fine, but I'm still gonna call you 'Roo'," the blonde replied, placing her hands on her hips once again and playfully sticking her tongue out at Hikaru. "I'd like to be friends, if you don't mind."

Hikaru raised an eyebrow at the other girl, feeling more than shocked and almost disgusted. Did she _honestly_ think that she could call her a hussy one moment and expect to be _friends_ the next? Oh, sure, there had been a misunderstanding, but in the world of young women, misunderstandings didn't mean a thing. Was Misa really that mental?

She took a deep breath and sighed loudly. "No, I guess I don't mind, Misa. Just...don't call me a hussy again, okay?" she said, pointing at Misa and narrowing her eyes.

Misa grinned, rocking back on her heels and giggling. "Of course, Roo! I wouldn't do that now; I know Light's not cheating on me with you, so it's all good!" With that, she clung onto Light's arm.

Light, who had been watching the two females..._talk_, quickly shook Misa off of him. Hikaru had lowered her guard again, and Misa hadn't even noticed that the American girl had a Japanese name. They were acting like two normal adolescent girls, and now was the perfect time to take advantage of the whole situation.

A small beeping noise came from Light's bag; all three of them jumped, once again. Light reached for it quickly, but was interrupted when Misa grabbed for his arm. "Who is it, who is it, Light?"

"I'd be able to see if you let go of my arm, Misa," Light replied calmly, looking back up at her as the beeping continued. Hikaru tilted her head, wondering how the boy could put up with such an annoyance like her.

"Ohh..." Misa immediately let go and backed off, sensing Light's irritability. Whether or not she knew it was because of her, Hikaru didn't know.

Light finally made it to his cell phone, quickly flipping it open and placing it against his ear. At the moment, he was regretting not getting a phone with caller ID.

"Light-kun." The voice on the other end was a familiar, apathetic-sounding, sleep-deprived one. "Where are you? Are you on your way yet?"

"Yes, I'm still at school, Ryuzaki, and on--" The auburn-haired boy was interrupted as a loud crash was heard, followed by a scream.

"MISA AMANE!" Hikaru yelled, chasing the blonde around the room. "Gimme my goddamned magazine back NOW, before I gouge your eyes out with a rusty spork!!"

Light cringed at Hikaru's choice in words before trying to go back to the conversation on his cell phone.

The person on the other line was silent for a moment, before clearing his throat. "Misa-san isn't in trouble, is she? What's with all the commotion?"

"I-it's nothing, Ryuzaki..." Light said between small chuckles. He covered his mouth in an attempt to hide his laughter. "Misa's just getting chased by the new _American_ girl, Hikaru Michiyuki, because she apparently just stole a magazine from her."

"American girl? And she has a Japanese name?" the voice replied, sounding intrigued. "Is it because--?"

"It is. And I didn't even have to ask her to confirm it," Light said, his chuckles fading and being replaced by a growing smirk.

The voice on the other line paused for a moment, contemplating the current situation. "Is there any possible way that you could bring her here? I want to question her about the case. It wouldn't be so likely that a teenage American girl would keep up with the Kira case."

Light's eyes fell upon the still-occurring scene of Hikaru chasing Misa, and he pulled the phone away from his face for a moment. "Hey, Michiyuki-san, are you busy after this?"

Both girls stopped running, and their attention was diverted from each other to the boy. Hikaru spoke up. "No, I don't think so. Why, Yagami-kun?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I want you to meet a few friends of mine," Light replied carefully, a small smile spreading across his face. "The meeting may take awhile, so I was wondering if you had made plans for later."

Hikaru broke into a smile as she shook her head. "Nope, I'm free!" she said, flashing a peace sign to Light. She then focused her attention on Misa and leaped forward, grabbing the stolen magazine from the blonde and running away from her. "Nyah-hah!"

Light sweatdropped at her action of Misa gasped and began chasing Hikaru. Returning once again to his phone call, he cleared his throat. "Yeah, I can bring her. Unless...?"

"I'll provide transportation, Light-kun. Though you may have to explain to her where you're going. And make sure that Misa-san comes as well. I want her here, as she's still suspected as the Second Kira."

Light gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes at the last statement made. Sure, Misa _had_ been the Second Kira at one point, but Light had made her give up--

"Leave me the hell alone!" Hikaru's yell brought the boy out of his thoughts. He glanced at the two girls to see the black-haired one smack the blonde with the magazine. "Take my damn _AP_ again and I will eat your face! Understood?"

"Fine, I'll get her to come," Light said into the speaker, taking a deep sigh. "Which shouldn't be hard, since she's _Misa_, and she'll do anything I say." He held his breath, realising what he had just said would probably be used against him. _But he already knows that..._

"Hn. Well..I'll send a vehicle to pick you up. And thank you for helping to arrange all this, Light-kun." _Click._

Light placed his cell phone back into his bag and sighed, cradling his chin between his fingers. What plan could he construct in the time he had until their means of transportation came? He could possibly try to get Hikaru on his side, but that idea would be quite dangerous: She could go to the authorities and turn him in. Besides, having Misa know and help was good enough. The girl seemed intelligent enough, and that could end up being bad for Light. He closed his eyes, grumbling at the few options he had.

"Light-kun?" A small voice brought him out of his thoughts. He opened his eyes and looked down to see bright blue ones blinking up at him. "Are you okay? Do you mind if I call you that? Light-kun?"

His lips formed a small smile as he shook his head, throwing his bag over his shoulder and beginning to walk to the classroom door. "I'm fine, Michiyuki-san. And...I guess you can call me that if you want." He glanced over his shoulder at her, then at Misa. "We're getting picked up, Misa, and going to headquarters, all right?" Light's eyes fell upon Hikaru again. "I'll explain on the way. Get your stuff."

Hikaru's face flushed as she turned and ran to get her bag. She threw her magazine into the open parcel and swung it over her shoulder, her mind racing. Had she _honestly_ been asking if Light Yagami, the same Light Yagami that had mentioned Kira to her, was okay? There was definitely something _odd_ to this boy, and Hikaru was determined to find what it was. But for now, she'd go with whatever it was that he was planning. Besides, it seemed like they were starting to become friends anyway.

The three quickly left the room and made their way out of the building, standing out by the school entrance in the bright sun. Hikaru shielded her eyes, grinning up at the blue sky. She glanced over at the other two to see that Misa was clinging to Light's arm again.

"Hey, Light-kun?" Misa perked up at Hikaru's voice, glaring slightly at how the other girl addressed him. "What did you mean by...'explain on the way'?"

A small smirk formed on his lips before he spoke. "Well, Michiyuki-san...

"You're going to be questioned about the Kira case."

Hikaru narrowed her eyes and glowered at the boy. Damn, he beat her again.


	5. Damn

Hi hello I was on vacation and away from the computer for most of that time. I wasn't able to update and I'm really sorry about that. Hopefully I won't take so long to update this again.

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Chapter five - Damn

"Oh, you shouldn't worry, Michiyuki-san," Light continued, waving his hand as if the whole situation was no big deal. "You're not a suspect or anything. A colleague of mine, the guy on the phone, found you to be very interesting. The fact that you're American and have a Japanese name?"

Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn. Hikaru balled her hands into fists as she stared at the ground. Why did that stupid boy have to turn her name into such a big deal? She looked up at Light, narrowing her eyes even more. "So, am I being questioned by the police then?"

"Yes, and another person who has almost nothing to do with them," Light replied, crossing his arms in victory. That was a lie. The person who he was speaking about had _a lot_ to do with the police. This statement was to calm Hikaru down.

The raven-haired girl sighed, and placed a hand against her forehead. "W-well, can I call my parents to tell them that I'll be out for awhile?"

"Sure." Light dug in his bag for his phone, and upon finding it, tossed it to the girl. Hikaru caught it, and dialed her home phone number.

The phone rang twice before a woman picked up. "Hello? Michiyuki residence."

"Mama? It's me," Hikaru said breathlessly, staring at the ground in front of her.

"Oh! How was your first day at school, Hol--?"

"Mom! Don't say my name over the phone!" she hissed, making both Light and Misa jump.

Light blinked, staring at Hikaru. Had her mother just said her real name? And he missed it?!

"Oh, right, sorry," her mother replied sheepishly, laughing nervously at her mistake. "Well, how was it? Your day, I mean."

Hikaru sighed. "It was fine. I made a few friends already, and I was calling to say that I'm gonna hang out with them. I don't know when I'll be home, so--"

"Henry! Henry, did you hear?" her mother interrupted. "She made friends _already_! Our daughter is an amazing girl~!"

"MOM!" Hikaru shouted, making Misa and Light jump again. "I'll call you later with what time I'll be home, okay? I'll talk to you later, bye." She hung up and tossed the phone back to Light, rubbing her temples stressfully. _My parents...damn_.

Misa tilted her head as she gazed at the other girl. "Roo? Are you okay? Do you have a headache? I probably have some aspirin in my purse if you need it..."

"I'm fine, Misa." She sighed and looked at Light, who was staring down the street anxiously. Had he heard? He already knew her name was fake, so that would come as no surprise to him. Hikaru had already become suspicious of him, and was finding the whole situation confusing. She knew that she shouldn't trust Light, or Misa, or anyone in Japan except her parents, _especially_ in the Kanto region. It had been proven that that was where Kira was killing from, so no one in the area should be allowed to know her true name.

_I'm being questioned about the Kira case...damn._


	6. Friends

I'm not very good at updating. I apologise. Here's chapter six.

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Chapter six - Friends

After a few more minutes of being kept in an awkward silence, a black limo pulled up beside the curb, and the passenger seat window rolled down to reveal a middle-aged man whose hair was greying, and had a pair of glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, accompanied by a stern-looking face. He eyed Hikaru, who was staring at the limo in awe, before looking at Light. "So, this is her, Light? Hikaru Michiyuki?"

"Yeah, Dad," Light replied, tugging on Hikaru's arm to bring her closer to the car. "Today was her first day at school, and I didn't know how long she's been in Japan, so she may be nervous about coming with us."

Yes and no. She wasn't nervous because she hadn't been in the country for very long--Light had misinterpreted her dazed staring at the car as apprehension--but rather because she was going to be question by police about a case she had absolutely nothing to do with.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow at the man in the limo. Light had referred to him as "Dad"...right? "I've only been in Japan for a week or so, so I'm not really nervous about that, Yagami-san. It's just..." She broke off for a moment. "The police..."

"Did Light say that you were being questioned by the police?" the older man asked, a small smile appearing on his face. "Our group quit the Japanese police force awhile back. Now we're just a task force that's trying to capture Kira." His eyes glanced at Misa and Light before continuing. "I'm Soichiro Yagami, Light's father. And we better go, before the others get impatient."

At this, the three outside the car looked at each other. Light, being the gentleman he could be, decided to open the backseat door for the two girls, though he narrowed his eyes slightly in the direction of his father. It would have been better for him if Hikaru would have kept believing that she was being questioned by the police, so Light could see how much she knew about the case, how intelligent she really was, and also determine if she was a threat to him. He gritted his teeth as he slid into the limo and slammed the door shut, glancing next to him to see that he was sitting beside Hikaru. _Great..._

The ebony-haired girl sat with her hands on her knees, her body in an erect position as she stared ahead. She was still incredibly nervous, and now her mind was full of thoughts about Light. Why had he lied to her about the police? Was he using her? Was this whole meeting a test? He had only brought it up after that phone call... Who was on the other line?

A small noise escaped her throat, the effect of her apprehension. Misa and Light glanced at her, both raising eyebrows at her humming. What in the world was she doing?

Her humming grew louder as she continued to stare ahead, ignoring the two others' inquiring stares. Hikaru guessed it would be odd for them to hear that particular song, sing they were Japanese and it was not. She smiled slightly, deciding to sing the words now, instead of just the melody, from the beginning.

_"And I came here to make you dance tonight.  
I don't care about my guilty pleasure for you."_

Light's eyes grew wide upon hearing the lyrics. Since he was at the top of his class, he could understand the words to the song perfectly. Why was she singing about a 'guilty pleasure'? Was that _really_ the kind of music that Americans listened to?

Hikaru continued with the next verse, the grin spreading across her face. She didn't even falter when Soichiro turned around and gave her an odd look.

_"And I don't even know__  
What kinda fool you're takin' me for.__  
So you've got some brand new clothes  
You never could afford before."_

She continued the rest of the way through the song, feeling as if she were providing the musical entertainment for the car ride. As she went through the song, her voice became louder, and the style became more personal, and less like that of the original singer.

Once Hikaru had sung the last note, Light turned to her and gave her a small smile. "That was pretty good, Michiyuki-san. Was that a song from America?"

Hikaru grinned again. "Sure is, Light-kun, it's one of my favourites: 'Guilty Pleasure' by Cobra Starship." She blinked and tilted her head slightly. "You can call me 'Hikaru' if you want, Light-kun. I think we're good enough of friends now, aren't we?" Well, she didn't exactly think so, but it probably wouldn't hurt to have him trust her.

Light's eyes narrowed at Hikaru's suggestion. Was she trying to get him to trust her? And she thought it was _that _easy? A smug grin came across his face as he nodded. "Alright..._Hikaru_, I'll call you that then. And I guess we are pretty good friends already. You're pretty social too." If she was trying to get _him_ to trust _her_, he'd do the same.

"Misa-Misa and Roo are friends too!" Misa squeaked, draping her arms over Hikaru's shoulders in an attempt to feel included in the conversation. She giggled, squeezing Hikaru closer to herself.

The other girl sweatdropped, trying to pry Misa off of her. "Hey, Yagami-san, are we almost there yet? I'm kinda getting hungry."

Soichiro turned around in his seat to look at her. "Almost. We'll have to go through a few complications before getting in the building, and it's advised that outsides, like yourself, don't see it," he replied, his polite smile fading a bit.

"Aw," Misa said, glomping Hikaru again. "It must be that you're not special enough to see everything, Roo." She grinned evilly at the younger girl, feeling triumphant for seemingly no reason.

Light took a blindfold from his father and held it out to Hikaru. "Here, put this on. Just so we can make sure you're not peeking," he said, making the last word as if he were talking to a child.

Hikaru took it from him, ripping it from his hands. Fine, if they weren't going to trust her, she wouldn't trust them either. Rethinking this thought, she figured that she hadn't planned on trusting them anyway. Wrapping the blindfold around her eyes, she snorted, making Light and Misa look at her oddly. The whole situation...was pissing her off!


	7. Questions

I'd like to say this chapter makes things even more interesting.

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Chapter seven - Questions

For the next twenty minutes or so, Hikaru was kept in darkness. She sat grumbling, getting an occasional nudge from Light to shut up, or a hug from Misa to "keep her company since she couldn't see anything."

"Yagami-saaaaaan!" she whined, kicking her legs in annoyance. "You said we were almost there twenty minutes ago! Aren't we yet? My tummy's talking to me!"

Light stared at Hikaru, raising an eyebrow. Judging on what she had said, she could be labeled as a stereotypical, disrespectful American teenager. Besides the fact that she was acting immaturely. Her tummy was talking? Light rolled his eyes at the statement. She was such an odd girl; could she honestly be as intelligent as he had previously guessed?

"We'll get there when we get there, Hikaru," Soichiro replied, feeling slightly annoyed as well. He hadn't been told why, exactly, this American girl was going to be questioned. It had only been stated that she knew about Kira, and apparently that had been important enough to bring her to headquarters. So, Soichiro had to follow orders, simple as that.

Hikaru grumbled again, folding her arms over her chest. Everything about this was irritating. The fact that she had to wear a blindfold to this "headquarters" place, Light was being a complete jackass, and Misa was being as annoying as ever. Even the fact that Soichiro was grumpy was irking her.

"All right, we're here," the older man suddenly said, bringing Hikaru out of her negative daydreams. The car stopped, and Hikaru heard the others get out, irking her again.

"Hello? What about me? Can't I take the blindfold off yet?" she complained, narrowing her eyes to no avail. She scooted toward one of the doors, only to find that she bumped right into Light. Her cheeks burned red as she backed away as quickly as possible.

Light stared at her in curiosity. Had she ran into him on purpose? No, that wasn't possible. She was blushing too badly for that to be planned. He grinned to himself as he reached for her hand, taking it in his and pulling her closer to him. "Here, Hikaru. Just hold my hand and I'll lead you inside..."

Hikaru's stomach did flip-flops as she nodded. She couldn't do anything to change the situation--she had to follow him in order to get where they were going--but she was a teenage girl, nevertheless. She couldn't say that Light _wasn't_ good-looking, because he definitely was. And that's what was making the butterflies flutter. "Th-thank you, Light-kun," Hikaru said softly, getting out of the car and following behind him.

"No problem," he replied, his grin turning more smug at the change in her voice. This meant that he was winning, and his acting, charm and good looks combined were working to his advantage.

Misa, who had stayed back to wait for Light, glared in jealousy as Light pulled Hikaru closer to her. "Light! What in the world do you think you're doing, holding Roo's hand? You're _my_ boyfriend!"

Light rolled his eyes. "Give me a break, Misa. I'm just guiding her so she can get inside okay." A small smile formed on his lips as he squeezed Hikaru's hand, just to make Misa even angrier.

Hikaru's cheeks grew darker at Light's action, and she put a hand over her mouth. What was he doing? He didn't actually _like_ her, did he? No-no-no-no-no, that was impossible. Though...she had already revealed to him a lot about herself...

Suddenly Light stopped walking. Confused, Hikaru tilted her head. "Why'd we stop, Light-kun?" she asked, her blush fading away.

"You can take you blindfold off now," Light replied, letting go of her hand and walking away from her. Hikaru did as he said and removed her blindfold, gasping at the sight.

She was standing in a large room with absolutely no windows, which made her feel slightly uncomfortable, and just beyond where she stood, there were seen huge monitors, the biggest sitting in the direct middle of the other six. In front of those seven monitors were a few chairs--someone was sitting in one of them, looking busy at work.

Hikaru glanced around the room, looking frantically for any familiar faces. She immediately found Light, and rushed toward him. "Light-kun! Why'd you leave me alone over there? That _scared_ me!"

Light glanced at Hikaru out of the corner of his eye. He had made his way over to the person in the chair and was now standing next to him. "I'm sorry, Hikaru. I wanted to get started as quickly as possible."

"Um, I have a question," Hikaru said, looking around the room as she continued her way to Light. Once she arrived, she looked up at Light with wondering blue eyes. "Where's Misa and Yagami-san go?"

Light didn't answer. His eyes were focused on the computer screen in front of the other person.

Deciding to ignore this fact, Hikaru's eyes traveled to the man sitting in the chair. She blinked, taking in his appearance. His black hair was messy and made it look like he had just woken up, and the deep bags under his eyes screamed "sleep-deprived". He wore a simple white shirt and baggy blue jeans. Hikaru looked closer at the man to see that he also wasn't wearing socks or shoes, and...the way he sat was quite odd. He was balancing on his feet on the chair, his legs folded beneath him in a strange stance. Hikaru tilted her head in confusion.

"Erm..." she said softly, poking the man's shoulder. "Are you the one who wanted to question me about Kira?"

He turned his head slowly to look at her, the expression on his face never changing. "Yes, I am. And you must be Hikaru Michiyuki, the American girl with the Japanese name."

That statement made Hikaru snap. "Why the hell is everyone making a big deal over my name? So it's Japanese and I'm not; get _over_ it!" She began waving her arms in frustration, her voice escalating to the point where she was yelling.

This made both Light and the odd man look at her in shock, both pairs of eyes opening wide. Light had already known that Hikaru was getting more and more irritated by the remarks she was getting about her name. He glanced at the other man to see that he was staring at the girl in surprise.

"Hikaru! Calm down!" Light yelled over her, taking her shoulders in his hands and shaking her gently. "Stop screaming, please, it'll scare the rest of the task force and probably Misa as well."

She slammed her eyes shut, forcing herself not to look at him. She couldn't be angrier than she already was at this point. Her name wasn't a big deal--it was only for _protection _again Kira! Maybe if she could just explain to them, they'd stop mentioning it, and she could go home. She opened her eyes slowly, looking up at Light. "Can I...explain _why_ I have this name, then?"

Before Light could even open his mouth, the other man spoke. "Yes, but not before you tell me what you know about Kira," he said, turning his chair so that he was facing them completely.

Hikaru narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. "Fine. But there are two things about that: one--the explanation of my name has something to do about my knowledge of Kira, and two--I want to know your name too." She stuck her tongue out at him in a playful, yet annoyed man. "If you don't now, that would be considered being a jerk, you know."

The man considered this statement, his right forefinger coming up to his mouth in thought, as his eyes drifted up and away from her. This girl...she exploded into such anger so quickly...just because of her name? It was obvious that most Japanese would wonder why an American didn't have an American name, so she must've been asked by a lot of people by now. But a teenage girl wouldn't get that angry over a question that was simple... He glanced at Light, who was still holding Hikaru's shoulders at staring at her intently. That must be it. It was Light who had made her so on edge. Did he plan to do something with her? If so, what was it?

His eyes focused back on Hikaru, whose elegant blue eyes gave him a start at first as they connected with his. Without taking his finger from his mouth, he finally answered her question. "Call me...Ryuzaki."


	8. Numbers

Chapter eight - Numbers

"Ryuzaki-san, huh?" Hikaru mumbled, folding her arms over her chest. Her eyes scanned him again, and she decided that he also was using an alias--he wouldn't say "call me Ryuzaki" if he wasn't, right?

She turned back to Light and raised an eyebrow. "Uh, you can let go of my shoulders now, Light-kun..."

Upon hearing this, Light looked at his hands, still grasping the girl's shoulders. A light pink colour tinted his cheeks, and he dropped his arms immediately, looking away from her. "S-sorry, Hikaru. I didn't realise I was still touching you like that..." he grumbled, holding a hand over his mouth. How had she done that? She had made him _blush_! Was it his normal adolescent boy instinct taking over in the presence of a girl? A pretty girl, no less...

Ryuzaki brought his focus onto Light, cocking his head. "Light-kun, if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Hikaru-san alone," he said in his monotone voice.

Hikaru glanced sideways at the man, raising an eyebrow at him now. Why did he need to talk to her alone? What was important enough that only _he_ could know? Besides, she wanted Light to hear the reason for her name. Speaking of Light... She turned her attention back to him, tilting her head as she saw that he was blushing. What in the world was going on?

Light lowered his hand and looked away from both Hikaru and Ryuzaki. "All right, fine, I'll leave. But you'll have to report what she says to the rest of the task force anyway," he mumbled, the blush still in his cheeks.

"Why don't you go find Misa, Light-kun?" Hikaru said, snickering as she pointed at him. She figured that he was already blushing, and since she was in an..._awkward_ situation, she'd embarrass Light. What fun. "You know how much she loves you, so you should do something about it. Take her on a date or something!"

He narrowed his eyes in her direction, but didn't say a word. Instead, he quickly made his way over to the stairs on the left, stairs that Hikaru had missed in her scanning of the room, and went up them.

Hikaru watched Light go up the stairs, her eyes reflecting happiness. She had gotten him back for riling her up about her name. She 'hmphed' in victory, putting her nose in the air before turning back to the other man. "Okay, so...ask away, Ryuzaki-san," she said, sliding into the empty chair next to him.

Ryuzaki, who had gone back to work on his computer for the time being, glanced at Hikaru from the corner of his eye. Her dark hair complimented the tone of her skin and face-shape, and her deep blue eyes were enough to intimidate someone; they had startled even him at first. He turned to face her again, placing his hands on his knees. "Well, first off...how do you know about Kira? Since you are an American teenager, it's very unlikely that you, or anyone in your nationality's age group, would be interested in the Kira case."

She snorted in amusement, a grin forming on her lips. "Are you kidding? It's a freaking _murder case_, history in the making!" she said matter-of-factly, giggling a bit. "Like the Zodiac killer, in San Fransisco in the sixties, or whatever. I'm sorta into that kinda thing." Hikaru sweatdropped and laughed nervously. "Well...the history and stuff of it, not committing the actual crimes."

Ryuzaki's thumb immediately went to his mouth in thought. Well, _that _was interesting. She was paying attention to Kira in the media because serial killers were part of history. Was that the only reason? There had to be more; she had broken into laughter when he asked her. He chewed on his thumb as he stared at her, making her shift her body uncomfortably. "What do you know about Kira then?"

Hikaru tilted her head, staring back at him. This man...he wasn't Japanese, was he? She looked his face over a few times before concluding that he was partially Japanese, but mostly some kind of European. Strange combination. "I know that he works from the area that I live in, the Kanto region," she started, speaking slowly and softly. "He kills only criminals and people that get in his way, and... Oh! He can kill by knowing a person's name and face, and I think I heard once that whoever he is, he's striving to become 'God', the one who passes judgement on who should and shouldn't live," she finished, smiling cutely at him. Good thing she had paid attention to the news and could remember all of that.

"Hn." Ryuzaki stred ahead, his thumb still tucked snuggly in his mouth. The information Hikaru had just given him was common knowledge to the Japanese population, but it still astounded him that an American girl knew. And the bit about Kira wanting to be a God? Where had she heard that? _Ryuzaki_ knew about this, but...not many other people did. "Is that all, Hikaru-san?"

Hikaru racked her memory for any other facts about Kira she knew. "Well...twelve FBI agents were killed after being sent by the US, after..." Her voice drifted off, making Ryuzaki tilt his head in interest. After what? Hikaru's hand shot to her forehead as she tried to think. Someone...someone in the FBI had probed one of the familiar connected to the National Police Agency.. Who was it?! "What was his name...Raye Penber?"

Ryuzaki's eyes widened even more, which seemed almost impossible, at Hikaru's words. She knew about him? Wasn't his name confidential? Maybe it wasn't, but...still... And the fact that Raye Penber was American and part of the FBI...maybe his name had been said over the media. "Yes? Raye Penber was one of the twelve FBI agents killed by Kira. What about him?"

"Uh...well, see..." Her voice was low as she lowered her hand and tapped her forefinger against her chin in thought. "Raye Penber...probed a family in the NPA..."

He didn't need to hear anymore to know that Hikaru could be useful. He stood up slowly, making the girl stop talking and look at him in confusion. "Hikaru-san. You know enough about the Kira case to be useful to us. Could I interest you in a position on this task force?"

"Huh?" Hikaru said, inhaling sharply as her eyes widened. "Y-you mean...the same organisation as you, Light-kun and Yagami-san? To catch _Kira_?!" She placed her hand on her heart to try and calm its rapid beating. "Well, erm, I... Can I call my mom?"

"Yes," Ryuzaki said slowly, his eyes watching Hikaru intensely. She seemed _excited_...but nervous as well. Was being asked to join the task force really as overwhelming as she made it seem? Light hadn't been that enthusiastic about it... Ryuzaki pulled a cell phone out of his jeans' pocket and handed it to Hikaru; he hadn't let anyone use his personal cell before, but he could sense that she could be trusted.

Hikaru took the phone from him carefully, staring at his hand. Ryuzaki...had been holding the phone delicately at its top. Weird. She flipped it open and dialed her home phone number, once again.

"Hello?" Her father had picked up this time, sounding a bit tired. It always surprised her, how different her parents sounded on the phone.

"Hi, Dad," Hikaru chirped, smiling a bit. "It's Hikaru. Um..." She looked at Ryuzaki for a moment to see that he was staring at her, his wide eyes glued to her face. She quickly focused back on her conversation as soon as she realised that, between his hairstyle and the bags under his eyes, Ryuzaki resembled a panda; this realisation, and his staring, made her blush deeply. "Well, there's this task force that wants me to join them in the investigation of the Kira case. Remember, Kira? That killer I told you and Mom about?"

There was a loud gasp on the other end, followed by a long silence.

"Uh, Dad?" Hikaru said nervously, holding her hand against her chest. "I'll be okay, don't worry. We have my fake name set and everything! Besides...I made a friend at school today, Light Yagami-kun, and he's on the task force. I can trust him, don't worry." Saying that almost made her sick. She couldn't trust Light, and she knew it, but she wanted her father to think she'd be perfectly protected.

"Hikaru..." he replied, now sounding apprehensive. "I just want you to be safe. That's why we changed our names, for _your_ safety. But...if you really want to do this...and _find_ Kira..."

"I do, Dad," Hikaru said, smiling softly. "I want to bring Kira to justice, and bring the world's citisens out of fear of him. He's just like the Zodiac killer, and you remember him. I don't want people to be afraid of being killed like that."

Ryuzaki watched as Hikaru spoke. She looked like she was speaking truthfully, from the bottom of her heart. So, she was really the kind of person that would stand up for what she believed in, the kind of girl who didn't want people to be harmed if they didn't deserve it. A small smile formed on his lips; he knew he had made a good decision when he asked her to join the task force.

"How long do you think you'll be away from home, Hikaru?" her father asked, sounding less anxious about the whole deal now.

"Um..." Hikaru glanced at Ryuzaki, putting her hand over the mouthpiece and blushing as she noticed that he was staring at her with his thumb in his mouth. "Hey, Ryuzaki-san? Can I go home tonight?"

Without blinking, Ryuzaki brought his dark eyes to connect with her bright blue ones. "I would like you to stay here for at least a week," he mumbled, disregarding the fact that his thumb was making it harder for him to talk. "We can have your school work done for you, but I don't think it would matter all that much since you and Light-kun are graduating high school in three weeks."

Hikaru's eyes widened and she stared at him in shock, completely missing what Ryuzaki said after "one week". "Are you _kidding_ me?! I can't be away from one whole week! That's seven days, Ryuzaki-san! I'd miss my parents too much!"  
Ryuzaki gazed at her calmly, quite the opposite of the girl in front of him. He chewed on his thumb for a slight moment before taking it out of his mouth. "As you've experienced, Hikaru-san, it takes a lot of time to get into the task force headquarters, so it's easier for all of us to just stay inside. Today was the first time in weeks that Yagami-san had left, to bring you, Light-kun and Misa-san here."

Hikaru grumbled, glaring at Ryuzaki and quickly turning back to her father on the other line. "Listen, Dad, they want me to stay here for a week for now. And I'm not too happy about it either, but--"

"A week?!" the man bellowed, making Hikaru pull the phone away from her ear and Ryuzaki look at it in surprise. "Hikaru, you have school to worry about! I know you're almost eighteen, but your mother and I want you to succeed in your education!"

"I know that, Dad!" Hikaru replied, trying her best to sound calm but failing miserably at it. "The, erm...'head', I guess, of the task force said that my schoolwork would be taken care of. Besides, graduation is in three weeks, and Light-kun is here with me. I guess that if this whole thing goes well enough, I can get a job with the police, as a secretary or something." She smiled slightly at the thought. "Don't worry, Dad, I'll be fine. You know, I'm a bit smarter than other teenage girls, right?" She glanced at Ryuzaki, who made a sort of gesture that meant for her to finish her call. "Okay, I have to go. Tell Mama I love her, and I love you too, Dad. I'll see you on Sunday."

"Hikaru," her father said abruptly, right before she hung up. "Remember to _be careful_. Capture Kira, but I want you to be as safe as possible. I love you more than anything, and you know that."

Hikaru smiled, making Ryuzaki rest his eyes on her teeth--they were very straight, and she didn't have braces or a retainer. "I love you too, Dad." She made a kissing noise and hung up, handing the phone back to Ryuzaki. "Thank you, Ryuzaki-san," she said, giving him a small smile.

Ryuzaki continued to stare at her as he placed his cell phone in his pocket. He focused his eyes on something he hadn't exactly noticed before. His dark eyes traveled down her body and stopped at her chest. It seemed that Hikaru's breasts were larger than an average teenage girl, but she hadn't been flaunting them or boasting, which was most likely _why_ he hadn't noticed them up until that point. The school uniform that she was still wearing fit her bust very nicely, and Ryuzaki opened his mouth to say something about it, completely disregarding the common knowledge that females hate it when men stare at their breasts, but he was interrupted by Hikaru, who had immediately noticed that he wasn't looking at her face anymore.

"A-are you _staring_ at my boobs?!" she yelled, trying her hardest to cover them up with her hands. Her face turned a dark red, and she glared at Ryuzaki, who was now looking at her face again. "How the _hell_ do you think you can get away with staring like that?"

"Hikaru-san, I didn't mean to upset you," Ryuzaki replied, meaning every word he said. He reached out his hand to her, and was about to add something else, but Hikaru smacked him across the face.

"RYUZAKI-SAN, YOU ARE A GODDAMNED PERVERT!"


	9. Attack

Chapter nine - Attack

Hearing the commotion, Light, who had been wandering the halls of the building for the past ten minutes, ran as quickly as he could to the room in which he had left Hikaru and Ryuzaki. He burst through the door just as Hikaru's palm hit Ryuzaki's cheek, making a loud, echoing, slapping sound.

"Hikaru! What are you doing?" he yelled, hopping down the stairs and grabbing her wrist. He pulled her closer to his body, and made her look at him. "You can't just go around slapping people like that, Hikaru! What the hell happened?"

"Let _go_ of me, Light-kun!" Hikaru shouted back, struggling against Light's grip; she couldn't tug her wrist out of the grasp of his fingers. "I don't have to tell you, _especially_ since you won't lemme go!"

Ryuzaki, in the midst of all the hubbub, placed a hand against his sore cheek, and his thumb wandered absent-mindedly into his mouth. "Light-kun, let Hikaru-san go. She has a right to be angry with me."

"A _right_?" Light repeated, immediately letting go of Hikaru's wrist. As soon as he did, she ran half-way across the room to get away from the two men. "Ryuzaki, what do you mean by 'a right'?"

"Well, to put it simply--" The raven-haired man was interrupted by the raven-haired girl as she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted.

"He was staring at my boobs, so I slapped him! Ryuzaki's a goddamned pervert, Light-kun!" Hikaru folded her arms across her chest. She wanted to leave the room, to just get out, but she didn't know any other places to go in the building.

Light's cheeks turned a soft pink at Hikaru's explanation. This was the second time that day that she had made him blush. He glanced back at Ryuzaki, raising an eyebrow and doing his best to make the blush fade. "Really, Ryuzaki? You were...erm...doing what Hikaru said you did?"

Ryuzaki stared up at Light with the seemingly normal blank stare of his. "Yes, so as I said, she has a right to be angry with me." His thumb-in-the-mouth hand dropped to his side, but his other hand, the one against his injured cheek, stayed put.

Light looked back at Hikaru, who had inched a bit closer to the two. He sighed, placing a hand against his forehead in annoyance. Somehow, Hikaru was making his life a living hell--and he hadn't even known her for an entire day! "Let's just drop it, okay? Hikaru, come back over here."

Hikaru's arms lowered to her side slowly, glaring at Light. This was getting irritating. She made her way back to where Ryuzaki and Light were standing, her arms crossed over her chest again. "Fine. Here I am. Jerk."

Ignoring her statement, Light looked at Ryuzaki again. "So, what's going on with her then? Is there a particular reason that she's living here?"

"'She' has a name, y'know. Jerk." Hikaru stuck her tongue out at the brunette. Both Ryuzaki and Light paid no attention to what she said.

"I've decided to recruit Hikaru-san to help us catch Kira," Ryuzaki mumbled, his hands finding their way into his jean pockets. He glanced to the side, at Hikaru for a moment, before looking back at Light. "She knows enough about the case, and she seems intelligent enough. Addtionally, she seems easy to trust."

Hikaru's heart skipped a beat as she stared at Ryuzaki in disbelief. Had the weird pervert man just called her trustworthy? He didn't even look like the type to trust easily! Actually, now that Hikaru thought about it, he didn't look like the type to do _anything_ easily, _especially_ how to behave around girls.

Light's eyes widened at his statement as well. He...would be working with Hikaru? Seriously?! He controlled his facial expressions to make it seem as if he wasn't as disappointed as he was. Though, he was speechless, and he couldn't think of a follow-up statement that could conceal his feelings.

Ryuzaki's eyes scanned both high schoolers and determined that they were surprised; since Hikaru had heard it earlier, he guessed it was because he said she was trustworthy. "For the time being, she'll stay here until Sunday, to visit her parents, so she's going to live here with us and _help out_." He stressed the two last words to make sure that both knew that she would be there only because of the case.

"But...hold on, Ryuzaki-san. If I can't leave and go home...what am I going to wear tomorrow?" Hikaru asked in anxiety. She blushed slightly and her hands went directly to her cheeks.

Both boys looked at her immediately; Light raised an eyebrow and Ryuzaki just stared at her, unblinking. "You can't just wear those clothes for the next six days?" the panda-esque man said, keeping his eyes focused on her.

"Of _course_ she can't, Ryuzaki! It's her school uniform!" Light said, sounding astonished. He shook his head and sighed. "I've got an idea. How about you, Misa and I go shopping for new clothes tomorrow, Hikaru? And since Ryuzaki has a fortune of money--" She gasped at this-- "we can afford to spend as much as we need to."

Ryuzaki nodded at this, not even objecting to what Light said about his money, and not caring to explain it in more in-depth to Hikaru. "And as for where you'll sleep, Hikaru-san, this building, along with being our headquarters, is also a hotel of sorts. Misa-san has her own floor, and there is a possibility that you would like to room with her?" He ended the sentence and made it sound like a question.

Taking that assumption, Hikaru nodded. "Not in the same room, though. I guess I'll stay with her on her floor...wherever that is." She sweatdropped, but brightened as she got a sudden idea. "Hey, Light-kun! Ryuzaki-san! When we go shopping-spree-shopping tomorrow, can I get some stuff to decorate my room? Please-please-please-please-PLEASE?"

Great, now she was whining. Light placed a hand on her shoulder to try and shut her up. "Yeah, we'll do that. I'm sure Ryuzaki wouldn't mind if you spent his money on things for your room." He glanced at Ryuzaki to see what his reaction would be.

Ryuzaki's thumb popped back into his mouth as he thought. He didn't exactly _mind_ if Hikaru used his money to by things for her stay there, but he hadn't let Misa use his massive fortune. Then again, Misa was a budding model who already _had_ money, and it looked as if Hikaru didn't, besides the fact that Hikaru didn't seem like the type to be a model like Misa was. "It's fine, Hikaru-san," he murmured, fixating his eyes on the girl in front of him. "I'm interested in what kinds of things you'll buy; you seem like an interesting person." Hikaru blushed at this. "In whichever room you choose, there is already a bed, a television, a bureau, a desk, a lamp, two chairs and a small refrigerator in the main room. There is also a large bathroom with two sinks, a toilet a bath and a shower, and a closet to store coats and shoes."

Hikaru blinked, staring at Ryuzaki in surprise. She was astounded that he could remember all of what was in her room--_besides_ the fact that she had a bath _and_ a shower in her bathroom. That made her excited. She squealed and tackled Ryuzaki in a hug. "Thank you, thank you, _thank you_, Ryuzaki-san!" she yelled, hugging him tightly.

Her action surprised (or freaked out) both Ryuzaki and Light. They glanced at each other before the panda-eyed man began squirming to get out of her grasp. "Y-you're very welcome, Hikaru-san," he mumbled, looking at Light for help.

Light nodded at Ryuzaki's gesture, and pulled Hikaru off of him. "How about we go pick a room for you so you can get ideas on how to decorate it? He held her hand gently, making her blush again. The two began heading up the stairs to get out of the room, until Ryuzaki said something else.

"Hikaru-san," he muttered, making both students turn around and look at him. "I want you to know this right now, before you get any deeper into this case. Earlier this year, Light Yagami and Misa Amane were apprehended and confined on suspicion of being the first and second Kiras, respectively."

Hikaru's eyes widened as Ryuzaki spoke. "Wh...what? Are you _kidding_ me?"


	10. List

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I feel like I should stop apologising, but maybe I should also publish chapters within a week of each other. Anyway~

* * *

Chapter ten - List

The room she chose was as far away from Misa's as physically possible. Which really wasn't even that far, since Misa's was in the middle of the floor. But she had also been strategic and picked the room closest to the elevator and the stairs, at the way end of the hallway; she could hear whenever someone was getting off at their floor.

Hikaru flopped onto her bed, curling up and making herself as small as possible. The statement Ryuzaki said before she and Light left had been the only thing on her mind for the past hour. Light and Misa were suspected of being Kira? She just couldn't believe it, or piece her thoughts together right. She sat up and tried to make sense of the facts, their suspicion, and her internal, gut instincts.

1. Light and Misa may or may not be Kiras one and two.

2. Light and Misa were her only "friends" in Japan, and therefore, she couldn't rely on anyone else but them and her parents.

3. Light, being as cunning as he was, could very well be Kira. She didn't want to believe it.

4. Misa seemed too stupid to be the second Kira. But then, it also made sense for them to be Kira, since they were... "together."

5. Also. Who, exactly, was Ryuzaki?

"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" Hikaru yelled, throwing herself back onto the bed. She curled back up into a ball, trying her hardest to think all of it through. Glancing at the TV, she wondered if she should turn it on. No, that would break her concentration. But maybe she should watch something to get her mind off of all her scattered thoughts.

If Light _was_ Kira...that would mean that he had killed hundreds of people. And Misa...sure, she was insanely annoying, but had she really done away with criminals and news anchors alike? Hikaru fidgeted, biting her lip. The worst thing was, she was going shopping with them. Ugh.

She twirled her hair in her finger as she sat up, grabbing the remote and flicking on the television. The default channel was currently on a news stations, and the story that they were talking about made Hikaru flop back onto her bed in frustration.

"Damn you, Kira!"

* * *

"Hey, Roo! Wake up!" Misa pounded on the door, trying her best to get the other girl out of bed. At the moment, she regretted Ryuzaki giving Hikaru a card key, like an actual hotel would have. "Roo! Get your butt out of bed! We're going shopping today!"

The ebony-haired girl sat up, rubbing an eye and yawning. She slowly crawled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom, peering at herself in the mirror. Hikaru was a mess. Her hair was all over the place, and there were small bags under her eyes. "Geez...is this Kira business screwing me up already?" she muttered, opening a drawer and searching for a brush, only to find she didn't have one. "Ah, dammit!"

"Hee! Kah! Roo!" Misa yelled, slamming her fists against the door with every syllable. "Wake up and let Misa in!"

Hikaru sighed and wen to the door, completely ignoring her hair situation as she opened it. "G'morning, Misa..."

"Oh, Roo, you look horrible!" Misa said loudly, gasping as she covered her mouth in shock. "Didn't you sleep okay? And you can't fix yourself up before we leave?"

Grumbling, Hikaru walked past Misa into the hallway. "Nah. I can't. I don't have any means of beauty in my backpack, thank you very much." Though, she did have homework that had been due that day; she never did finish it.

Misa sweatdropped, closing the door behind Hikaru and following her to the elevator. "Sorry, Roo. I forgot about that. I have a brush you can use, and clothes you can wear if you want."

"Really?" Hikaru asked, perking up at the news. She shrugged and turned around, heading back toward Misa's room and making the blonde follow her.

They entered the room--Misa didn't have a card key--and Misa went directly to her bathroom to find a brush. "You can look through my closet to find an outfit you like!"

Hikaru stepped toward the closet hesitantly. She didn't want to wear Misa's Gothic Lolita-style clothing, but she didn't want to go shopping in her _school uniform_. She slowly opened the door and scanned the inside for a decent, relatively-Hikaru-style outfit. None of them seemed to match that description. She sighed and pulled out an outfit at random: A black tanktop/bra-esque top that revealed the shoulders to about the middle of the upper arms, where lace sleeves covered them from there. The thing was a one-piece dress but it looked like a top and a skirt; the bottom, skirt-like portion of it was ruffled and very lacy. Hikaru sighed and began to undress, feeling hesitant about it. She didn't want to look like _Misa_--not at all. People might think that they were sisters. And if they didn't, they'd think that Misa and Hikaru were celebrities or something. But hadn't Ryuzaki said that Misa was a model? Hikaru brushed it off as the blonde came back, holding about five hair brushes.

Misa stopped in front of Hikaru, her mouth dropping as the raven-haired girl finished dressing. "Oh, Roo, you look so pretty in that!" she said, giggling as she handed Hikaru a brush. "have you ever thought about becoming a model, like Misa?"

"Ick, no," Hikaru replied, taking the brush from Misa and stroking her ebony hair. "I'm not so much of a girly-girl, and model people seem to hate tomboys. Besides, models are stereotypically stupid, and I certainly am not." She glanced at Misa for a moment before handing the brush back to her. "Hey, do you have a pen and paper?"

Misa cringed at Hikaru's words, but took the brush back nevertheless. "Uh, yeah, I do." She gathered the other hairbrushes and went to put them back in her bathroom. "What do you need a pen and paper for, Roo?"

"To write what I wanna get!" Hikaru called back, searching through the bottom of the still-open closet for a pair of sensible boots to go with her dress. "Like a brush! And I need clothes, desperately!"

"Here you go." The blonde came back, pen and paper in hand, and gave them to Hikaru, who was now on the floor. "Um, do you need help looking for shoes?" she asked, tilting her head. "I know the perfect pair of boots to go with that dress."

Hikaru shook her head, pulling a pair of high black boots out of the closet. They didn't exactly match with the outfit, but she didn't care. She slipped them onto her feet, then took the pen and paper from Misa and began writing.

_-Clothes._

_-Brush._

_-Toothbrush/paste._

_-Band posters._

_-Shoes._

_-CDs._

Misa peered over Hikaru's shoulder to see what she was writing. "Band posters?" she asked, tilting her head in curiosity. "American bands? Like that song you were singing yesterday in the car?"

"Mm-hm," Hikaru replied, nodding and standing up. She handed the pen back to Misa and grinned. "Geez, I'm so excited!" She jumped when a knock came from the door. "Ack! Whozzat?"

Misa sweatdropped and opened the door, a bright smile forming on her lips. "Ah, Light!" she cried, jumping onto him and hugging him tightly.

Light stepped through the door, Misa clinging to him, and looked at Hikaru. He raised an eyebrow at her attire. "What the hell are you wearing? You look like Misa."

Hikaru's cheeks immediately turned red, because of the fact that he had commented on her outfit, but also out of anger for saying that she looked like the crazy blonde, no matter how true it was. "Well, _excuse me_, Light-kun, for not bringing any clothes to school. Believe me, I had _no idea_ that I would be involved in the Kira case, let alone talking to a Kira suspect." She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him.

Light narrowed his eyes. He had figured that Hikaru would find out about his being suspected of being Kira. But he hadn't worked so far as to determine what her reaction would be. At the moment, he was guessing that she was acting tough and resentful, but she was truly afraid. Kira was a killer, after all, and the fact that she was staying in a building with a Kira suspect would surely be frightening to her. He sighed, shook Misa off of him, and grabbed Hikaru's wrist, pulling her to him in a tight hug--this angered Misa and shocked Hikaru, making her face turn the same colour as a ripe tomato. "You shouldn't believe Ryuzaki. Don't believe a _word_ he says, Hikaru," he said, gripping her tightly. "Ryuzaki has lied to and tested the task force an uncountable number of times. Me and Misa _are_ suspects, bt that's only because my intellect is parallel with his, and Misa is my girlfriend." He pulled away from her and connected his eyes with hers. "You don't have anything to worry about, Hikaru."

"But...but Ryuzaki said--" Hikaru started to speak, but Light interrupted her by placing a finger on her lips to stop her.

"Don't believe him, Hikaru," he repeated, keeping his focus on her deep blue eyes. "But we've gotta go buy things for your stay here, okay?" He gave her a small smile, then looked at Misa. "C'mon, Matusa's waiting for us."

"Matsu's driving us?" Misa squealed, jumping up and down happily. She grinned at Hikaru, completely forgetting what had happened moments before. "Oh, Roo, you're gonna love Matsu! He's just like a big puppy!"

Hikaru tilted her head, blinking. "Matsu...da? Is he part of the task force too?" She smiled a bit, feeling slightly excited about meeting someone new.

The three left Misa's room and headed to the elevator. Before anyone even hit the button to go down, the up arrow lit up--Hikaru tilted her head. "Who's coming up here?"

A bell dinged as the elevator stopped on their floor, and the doors opened, revealing a cheerful-looking young man. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as his eyes lowered on Hikaru. His face turned red instantly.

Misa burst into giggles. "Matsu, you should see your face right now! It's as red as an apple!" She turned to Hikaru and grinned. "I think Matsu thinks you're pretty, Roo," she said, winking at her.

The man shook his head violently, the deep blush staying put in his cheeks. "Misa-Misa, stop it! We've gotta go, now!" He stopped shaking his head and lowered his eyes, avoiding Hikaru's stare.

The raven-haired girl tilted her head. "Are you Matsuda-san?" she asked, taking a step closer to him and reaching for his hand. She smiled softly. "I'm Hikaru Michiyuki."

Matsuda's cheeks grew even darker as she took his hand in hers, making him jerk his head up and look at her. "Y-yes, I'm Touta Matsuda. There's no need to call me 'Matsuda-san,' though...just 'Matsuda.' No! Call me anything you want, Hikaru!" He lowered his head again, in a sort of bow.

Hikaru cocked her head again, letting go of his hand. She sweatdropped. "'Matsuda' is just fine. Now are we gonna go shopping or what?"

His head shot up again, and he nodded. "O-oh, yeah. Come on, Light, Misa-Misa. We've gotta go shopping for Hikaru!"

Misa giggled at Matsuda as she stepped into the elevator, and Light...Light didn't know what to say, or think. Sure, Hikaru was pretty, but she wasn't pretty enough to make someone fall head over hells in love with her at first site, like Matsuda had. He shook his head and decided that Matsuda was stupid, and he was attracted to beautiful women no matter what, like all men should be. But Hikaru? Seriously Matsuda. Choose someone your own age, please.


	11. Panda

Chapter eleven - Panda

Skipping ahead to later that evening, Light, Hikaru, Misa and Matsuda, upon arriving back at headquarters, went straight to the girls' floor, each carrying about five bags of..._stuff_. Matsuda looked like he was having the most trouble with his.

"Excuse me, Hikaru," he said nervously, his voice quivering slightly as he spoke to her. "But why did you have to buy all this stuff? Couldn't you've just gone home to pick up a few things?"

Hikaru glanced at Matsuda, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Well, that's a good idea, Matsuda. Except that Ryuzaki-san wants me to stay here until Sunday. SUNDAY!" she cried, stomping her feet in annoyance. She was obviously disregarding the fact that they were still in an elevator.

Light put his hand on Hikaru's shoulder after setting down a handful of bags. "Hikaru, calm down. Ryuzaki has good intentions, and he just wants to make it easier on you." When she looked at him in confusion, he explained further. "What I mean is, it's really complicated, getting in and out of this building, and by leaving as little as possible, it's not as big of a hassle as it could be." Light removed his hand from her shoulder and placed it around her waist, making her blush slightly. "Besides...I like having you here."

Hikaru's face turned bright red as she stared at him in slight shock. What was he doing? He didn't like her--at _all_--and she knew it. The most logical reason would be that Light was trying to get her to trust him, or...make her fall in love with him, possibly? She shook her head and tried to push away from him without making a scene--Misa hadn't noticed yet. "Light-kun...let go..."

He did what she said, and once she looked away, he smirked, picking up his discarded bags. He had her frazzled again--dazed and confused, just what he was aiming for. He mentally thanked his parents for giving him the genes for his good looks and followed the other three out of the elevator when it opened on their floor.

"Ohhh-kayyy!" Hikaru cheered as she led the way, as if she had completely forgotten what Light had done in the elevator. "To my room we go!" The four reached the door to her room and waited as Hikaru searched for her card key. "Found it!" She unlocked the door and they walked inside it.

Matsuda set his bags onto the floor and wiped his brow with his arm. "Well, that was a workout!" He nervously glanced at Hikaru, who was completely ignoring him while unloading her new items. Sweatdropping, he looked at Light. "You know, I think having her around will bring some new life into this place. I mean, just look at her! She's Misa's new best friend, and you _obviously_ have a good connection with her, Light."

Light, who had sat on the bed and was now watching as Hikaru busied herself with decorating, looked at Matsuda using his peripheral vision. Connection? _Him_? Please. He just wanted to gain Hikaru's trust, so he could use her as an asset in his long-term plan. But a connection with her was certainly out of the question.

"Hey, Misa, can I use your help, please?" Hikaru called, her hands against the wall as she attempted to tape a poster up. The poster, one that showed the picture of four men and the words "Panic at the Disco" in big letters was falling down on top of her.

Misa, who had been hanging Hikaru's new clothes in her closet, leaned back to see the other girl, smiling broadly. "Sure!" She dropped the clothes she had been holding and ran to Hikaru's side. "What can I do?"

"Here," Hikaru replied simply, handing the poster to Misa. "Hold this up against the wall, and I'll tape it up." She grabbed a role of tape and commenced with her plan with the help of the blonde. The fact that she and Misa were _working_ together didn't even cross her mind; she was too determined on getting her poster up.

Light and Matsuda, both of whom were sitting on the bed, were quite enjoying themselves as they watched Hikaru and Misa decorate the room with numerous posters--"Fall Out Boy;" "All Time Low;" "Cute is What We Aim For;" and many others. Occasionally, Hikaru would get fed up with something stupid Misa said and whacked her in the head with another poster.

At the moment, Light was feeling content, relaxed. He was finding entertainment in the two girls' shenanigans, and that made him feel...like a normal teenager. He sat back and kept his focus on Hikaru, a small smile coming to his lips. Hikaru, feeling his eyes on her back, turned around and looked at Light, tilting her head as she blushed slightly.

"What?"

Her speech brought him out of his thoughts, and he shook his head, blushing a bit as well. "N-nothing. I was just thinking," Light replied, feeling slightly flustered. She did it again. How could she make him blush like that? It certainly annoyed Light, since she pissed him off _anyway_, but she wasn't exactly like any other girl he had met before. And now that he was thinking about it...whenever he got close to her to make _her_ blush and confused...he wasn't exactly doing it just to make her trust him. He..._wanted_ to. He wanted to get closer to her, and--

No!! Impossible. Light grit his teeth and narrowed his eyes, avoiding eye contact with everyone else in the room. Hikaru was a threat to him and his plan, so there was absolutely no room to..."_love_" her. No matter how much his conscience wanted to. His main focus in life right now would be to rid the world of evil and become the god of a new world. Hikaru, as a new member of the task force and therefore against his ideals and actions, was evil.

"Hey, Matsuda," Hikaru called from inside the bathroom. "Can you be a dear heart and run out and buy something for me? I apparently forgot to buy shampoo, conditioner, soap and the works." Meaning bathroom items.

Matsuda perked up, blushing deeply at Hikaru's request. "Sure, Hikaru. Umm..." He searched his pockets quickly--he was the one who carried the credit card earlier--to make sure it was still with him. Sweatdropping slightly, he pulled it out, grinning victoriously. "I'll be right back then." With that, Matsuda left the room, hurrying to carry out Hikaru's favour.

Hikaru came out of the bathroom, disregarding Misa, who was still hanging up outfits, and sat down on the bed next to Light, apparently feeling comfortable enough to do so. "Are there any special items I should have, since I'm on the task force?" she asked suddenly, not looking at the boy beside her.

Light paused before responding. "You know, I'm not quite sure. Ryuzaki would be the one in charge of that kind of thing, so you'd have to ask him." He glanced at Misa out of the corner of his eye, deciding whether or not to scare Hikaru by putting the moves on her again. No, with Misa so close, and the room so quiet, now would definitely not be the time. Alone with her would be much better.

"Hm. Okay, I'll have to do that the next time I see him." Hikaru laid back onto the bed, holding her hands behind her head and closing her eyes. Quite frankly, the more Hikaru thought about it...she wasn't quite sure whether or not she actually _did_ want to see Ryuzaki. He was just too strange, and he had odd habits: sitting hunched over while balancing on his feet, having either a finger or a thumb in his mouth, _never blinking_. God, he was weird. But Hikaru had to admit, he was kind of cute with how the bags under his eyes made him resemble a panda. And even his hair looked cool, with the way it made him look as if he had just gotten out of bed (even thought it was obvious that he either didn't sleep well at night, or he didn't sleep, at all).

"...ru. Hikaru," Light said, as Hikaru came back from semi-consciousness. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, wearing a very cute look on her face, unbeknownst to her. "Um..." Seeing the adorable expression on her face, Light lost his train of thought, a faint pink tint entering his cheeks. "Never mind."

He had first notified her only because Hikaru looked as if she was falling asleep. But Light was guessing that she was thinking about...either himself, or Ryuzaki. The latter was most likely the cause, considering that Light had just mentioned him. By now, Hikaru was probably wondering who, exactly, Ryuzaki was, since Ryuzaki was just... "Ryuzaki." Light grinned to himself, feeling confident that Hikaru was confusing herself by thinking too much.

A sudden knock came at the door, and the three inside the room stopped what they were doing to stare at it. When no one got up to answer it, Hikaru groaned and climbed off the bed. "Okay, fine. _I'll_ answer it." She went to the door and kicked it, yelling, "Whaddaya want? People are hanging up clothes in here!" Well, _a _person. Close enough.

Whoever it was outside said nothing, leaving the whole floor completely silent--Hikaru was now wondering how she didn't hear the elevator in the first place. The next sound that was made was one that resembled a card key going in the slot of the door and being pulled out, and instantly the door opened, revealing Ryuzaki, who was standing hunched over; Hikaru was now finding this normal...for him, at least.

Hikaru kept her eyes on him for a moment before looking down at his hand and discovering that he was holding a card key. "What are you doing with that?" she yelled, pointing at it in fury. "I thought I had the only one!"

Ryuzaki glanced at the card in his hand before looking back at the girl in front of him. "This is the master key, Hikaru-san. Since you wouldn't let me in, I unlocked it on my own."

"What? Master key?" Hikaru yelled, pointing at the piece of plastic again. She contemplated this new information before her face was enveloped in a deep red blush. "That means you can come in my room any time you want! You could've come in last night and raped me or something!" She turned and ran away from Ryuzaki, jumping on the bed and hiding behind Light. "Light-kun, get him _out_ of here!"

Light glanced behind him at the spazzing girl and rolled his eyes. He then looked to Ryuzaki, who was now standing with his hands shoved in his pockets awkwardly. "Ryuzaki, you didn't come in Hikaru's room and rape her last night, did you?" he asked, a slight hint of mockery in his voice.

"No, I didn't," the panda-man replied, looking from Light to Hikaru back to Light again. "I would never consider committing such a vile act on a woman, Hikaru-san," he said to her, turning to face her now. "Please accept my apology for making you think that. But I need a master key to your bedroom, just in case you're in trouble and no one else can get to you."

"Huh?" Hikaru murmured, tilting her head as the blush deepened. "You mean..._you're the only one in this whole building with an extra key to my room_?!" She threw her hands in the air in frustration, jumping off the bed and placing herself between Ryuzaki and Light. "I think I'd feel safer with _Light-kun_ having an extra key to my room, not you, Ryuzaki-san!"

"Is that so?" Ryuzaki asked, placing his index finger absent-mindedly into his mouth. "Even with Light-kun under the suspicion of being Kira?"

Hikaru's heart skipped a beat as Ryuzaki mentioned this crucial piece of information; she had almost completely forgotten about Light's suspicion. She glanced away from both men for a moment, avoiding their eyes and Ryuzaki's question. She was tempted to help Misa, who was still putting away outfits and apparently ignoring the discussion, but Hikaru decided against it. Instead, she brought up something that she _knew_ Misa would be interested in.

"Just because you think _you're_ all hot because _you're_ not a Kira suspect, Ryuzaki-san, doesn't mean you're hot enough to stare at my boobs. So get over yourself."

"Whaaat?" Misa cried, throwing the clothes in her arms to the ground and staring at Hikaru in shock. "Ryuzaki _stared _at your _boob_, Roo? When? Where? Why?" She hurried to Hikaru's side and glomped her, holding her close as if trying to protect her from Ryuzaki.

"Misa-san," Ryuzaki replied, seeming not at all phased by her questions or yelling. "There really is an explanation for that. The thing is--"

"Just stop it, Ryuzaki-san," Hikaru said, shaking her head and pushing Misa off of her. She glared at the panda-eyed man, whose finger was still in his mouth. "Who _are_ you, anyway?" she asked suddenly, keeping her focus on him. "I could answer that one myself by saying that you're some guy who sits weird and sucks on his fingers all the time.. And it doesn't make me feel better that you look like an adorable panda!"

_Adorable...?_ Ryuzaki cocked his head at Hikaru's words. She hadn't even seemed to realise that she had just given him a compliment, or called him adorable, no less. Did Hikaru really think he was cute? Odd; Everyone he had ever come into contact with had said he was extremely weird. Well...Hikaru _did_ say he was weird, but nevertheless, she had said he was adorable...

Light glanced from Hikaru to Ryuzaki, narrowing his eyes slightly. Hikaru was still glaring at Ryuzaki, but said panda-man was staring clear into space. What in the world was he thinking about? Was it anything that Hikaru said? If that was the case, what was it? The fact that she said that Ryuzaki resembled an adorable panda? That couldn't be it; the only thing worth considering about that statement was that Hikaru had basically called him cute, and that was really strange, since Ryuzaki's appearance was strange in itself. But as Light glanced at him again, he had to agree with Hikaru; Ryuzaki _did_ look like a panda! Not necessarily an _adorable_ panda, but a panda nevertheless.

He finished contemplating those thoughts only to discover that the room was _still_ silent. Light shook his head and sighed inaudibly, and decided to break the current silence with a statement that would leave Hikaru speechless. And he knew it.

"Hikaru," he murmured, making her focused her attention on him, "Ryuzaki is L."


	12. Uncertain

Chapter twelve – Uncertain

"Wait…what the hell did you just say?" Hikaru said slowly, staring at Light wide-eyed. How could Ryuzaki be L? L, the greatest detective of the century—of all time!—was standing right in front of her? IMPOSSIBLE. L had never shown his face to anyone, and he went by no other name but "L." the man a few feet away from her had his face clearly visible, and his name was Ryuzaki.

No.

His _alias_ was Ryuzaki.

So it _was_ possible that Ryuzaki was L then. Was that why he was heading the task force? Sure. But wasn't L working with the police on this case? Soichiro Yagami had said that "his group had quit the Japanese police awhile back"… Was it that somehow, the whole Kira case itself had caused those police officers working on the case to quit the NPA? That could be it. And if so, Ryuzaki could be L. But if he actually was…

"the only way that Ryuzaki is L, Light-kun, is if you are Kira," Hikaru said curtly, folding her arms over her chest and smirking smugly at the auburn-haired boy. There, that would work. She didn't want to believe that Light was Kira, or that Ryuzaki was L. Light seemed too kind to be Kira, and Ryuzaki was too weird to be L.

Light glared at Hikaru, gritting his teeth. Now _she_ was suspecting him? Just because of something _Ryuzaki_ had said? Well…sure, it _was_ a fact that Light and Misa were suspected of being the first and second Kiras, but still. Hikaru had known them for only two days—how could she come to a conclusion that quickly? No, it wasn't that she had come to a conclusion, necessarily… She was believing what Ryuzaki said. After Light had told her not to! But that was to be expected, since the girl _obviously_ didn't know _what_ to believe. She'd take the panda-man's word over his.

Misa glanced from one face to another, trying to keep her breathing and her heart beats fairly steady. She was starting to get worried now. If Hikaru believed what Light said, and would follow through on what _she_ was saying, she'd believe what Ryuzaki had told her—about Light _and_ Misa. The blonde gulped, keeping her focus on Hikaru. What would she do? What would she do if her best friend believed that she was the Second Kira?

Hikaru sighed, then shook her head, placing a palm against her forehead. "Misa, Light-kun, I want to spend some time with Ryuzaki-san, okay?" she said, aiming her words at Light, rather than the both of them.

Light narrowed his eyes at Hikaru before giving her his answer. She was going to discuss Kira with Ryuzaki, and it was fairly obvious. "Fine," he murmured, walking to Misa and grabbing her hand. "Go ahead and stay here with Ryuzaki, Hikaru. Me and Misa will be downstairs if you need us." Like she would. With that, Light pulled Misa out of the room and slammed the door behind them; before they left, Misa glanced back at Hikaru with pleading eyes.

Hikaru gave a loud sigh, which sounded more like a groan, and threw herself on the bed, curling up in a ball and leaving Ryuzaki standing awkwardly by her. "Well?" she said, glancing over at him. "You said that you wanted to see what kinds of things I'd buy, and they're right there on the walls, pretty much." She pointed at said walls, which now were displaying about eight band posters, all of which were favourites of Hikaru's. She also gestured to the closet and the clothes that Misa had dropped, saying that a normal outfit for her was a pair of jeans and a band t-shirt. "Do you know how hard it was finding my Metro Station shirt?" Hikaru said, shaking her head as she sat up. "Almost _impossible_. But I did it!" she added, flashing a grin at the panda-eyed man.

Ryuzaki avoided Hikaru's eyes and looked on top of the bureau where there was now a boom box and a pile of CDs, the majority of them being by the bands on Hikaru's new posters and shirts. So, she liked music. A _lot_, it seemed, even to decorate her _life_ with it. "Do you have any magazines, Hikaru-san?"Ryuzaki mumbled, keeping his focus on the bureau. When he had called Light the day before, he was told that Misa had stolen one of Hikaru's magazines, so now he was wondering if she had bought any more. But then again, judging by the appearance of the room and how Hikaru had so openly displayed her musical belongings, she hadn't.

"Nah," Hikaru replied, shaking her head to further answer his question. "I do have one, though, in my school bag—an issue of _AP_. When Light-kun was on the phone with you yesterday, Misa took it and I ended up having to chase her around the room to get it back." She sweatdropped, still smiling at Ryuzaki, but he wasn't looking back at her. Her smile faded and she tilted her head in confusion. Didn't he know how to have a conversation? God was he weird. And he seemed overly sheltered too. Sheltered… Hikaru's eyes widened as the word repeated in her head. Ryuzaki _could _be L—L didn't show his face, so that would mean that he didn't get out much; not getting out much would mean not a lot of interaction with people, and would therefore make someone sheltered. Hikaru shifted her body and was now sitting on her knees, her legs spread out beneath her. "Ryuzaki-san, are you …are you really L?"

Ryuzaki finally acknowledged her presence and turned his unblinking eyes onto her. The best thing to do would be to tell her the truth and say that yes, he _was_ L, but he also had to consider what Hikaru had said to Light. If Hikaru would follow through on her word and believe that Light was Kira if Ryuzaki was L, it might be too early, and too dangerous for her to know who Light was. It had nearly been _proven_ that Light was Kira, but the task force simply didn't want to believe that he was, _especially_ Light's own father. Personally, if Ryuzaki had a son who had been accused of the same crimes as Light had been, he would probably be able to detach himself enough to put him away. But then again, Ryuzaki would have to find a woman to supply him with a child, and that was impossible for him. In any case, Ryuzaki glanced around the room in search of a chair so that he could think better; finding one, he sauntered over and climbed onto it, perching himself to be balancing on his feet again. "Please, Hikaru-san, just call me 'Ryuzaki'." He then turned his body slightly so that he was now facing the small girl on the bed. "What Light-kun said…shouldn't be acknowledged until later. I'll tell you now that this task force is in fact working with L, but to tell you the identity of L would be dangerous on your part. But…" Ryuzaki paused, lowering his eyes slightly. "The other members of the task force are ready to lose their lives at any moment, including Light-kun and myself. What I should've asked you before is, are you prepared to die?"

Hikaru's heart skipped a beat as she stared at Ryuzaki. "Am I…am I prepared to die?" she repeated, her voice quivering slightly. "Are you _kidding_ me? I don't want to die!" She took a deep breath and looked away from him, thinking about his question. If she said no, she would most likely be kicked off the task force. Hikaru didn't want that to happen, so the logical thing to do would be to say that she _was_ prepared to die. She focused her eyes back on to Ryuzaki and nodded. "Well…if it means putting Kira away…I will sacrifice my life. Though," Hikaru continued, putting a finger to her chin in thought, "aren't you and I safe, since we have aliases?"

"You're forgetting about the Second Kira, Hikaru-san," Ryuzaki replied, now chewing on his thumbnail, almost an imitation of Hikaru's finger against her chin. "The Second Kira can kill with only a face, if needed."

"Oh, right." Hikaru sighed, letting her body drop in exhaustion. "But Misa's under the suspicion of being the Second Kira, right? She asked, and Ryuzaki nodded. "_If_ she's the Second Kira, why are you letting her see your face?"

Ryuzaki paused before replying. "Misa-san's suspicion only goes so far; someone has an eye on her at all times." When Hikaru stared at him in confusion, he continued explaining. "Either she's with someone of the task force or if she's alone, she's in her room, where we have cameras monitoring every action made by her."

"Huh?" Hikaru blinked. "You…you have cameras in Misa's room? And you didn't tell me?" She could feel a blush coming on as she stared at Ryuzaki in anger and shock. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"To tell you the truth, Hikaru-san, I didn't think you'd be going into Misa-san's room any time soon." Ryuzaki stared back at her, wondering whether or not Hikaru was going to say something to make the conversation go in the direction he predicted it would go.

"Ryuzaki," Hikaru stated, getting off the bed and walking toward him with her hands on her hips. "I _changed_ in Misa's room today. Y'know…_took off my clothes_ and got dressed again?" The tone in his voice now was quite irritated.

"Yes, I saw that," the panda-man replied, looking up at the girl in front of him with large opaque eyes. "But don't worry; I directed the camera away from—" He was interrupted as Hikaru's hand connected with his cheek, and a loud slapping sound was made; he even fell off the seat and onto the floor.

"Get out of my room!" Hikaru shouted, pointing to the door in an attempt to make him leave faster. "Get out, get out, get out!"

Ryuzaki stood up quickly, staring at Hikaru before making his way to the door. He had definitely learned something about this girl within the last two days: She disliked any sexual attention, if that made sense, she hadn't liked it when Ryuzaki focused on her breasts, she'd screamed at him when she realized that she had been monitored by cameras while stripping down to her birthday suit, and she'd even accused him of raping her the previous night.

Living with this girl would be tough.

xxxxxx

Even a few floors below, Light, Misa, Soichiro and the returning Matsuda heard Hikaru's screaming.

Light shook his head as he glanced at his father. "Ryuzaki's in for some trouble if he thinks he'll be able to keep ignoring the fact that Hikaru's gonna need her privacy."

"Yeah!" Misa agreed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Ryuzaki's a pervert! And it's not fair that he keeps treating Roo like that." She grinned as a thought popped into her head. "But if she keeps yelling like that, he's gonna have to learn that us girls are ladies and we don't like perverts staring at us when we're naked." She nodded, as if to further illustrate her point.

Matsuda's face turned red as he pictured what Misa mentioned—not Misa herself, but Hikaru being naked. Attempting to get rid of it, he shook his head, then looked at Soichiro. "D-do you think that Hikaru still wants her cleaning stuff, Chief?"

"That would be a good idea, Matsuda," Soichiro replied, glancing up at his subordinate from his newspaper. "Besides, I'm pretty sure no one wants a smelly girl running around here, right?"

Matsuda nodded, sweatdropping as he began to head up the stairs. "Yes, sir."


	13. Cake

There's a little language in this. I mean, it's not too bad, but someone might find it offensive, so.

* * *

Chapter thirteen – Cake

"This is difficult," Hikaru moaned from her seat in front of a computer in the headquarters' main room. She laid her head on the keyboard in annoyance, which made the screen start to flash. She then turned her head to look at Light, who was on her left and working just fine on his computer. "Light-kun, why didn't you tell me how hard catching Kira would be?"

Light glanced at Hikaru out of the corner of his eye for a moment, then went back to his research. "I didn't know that Ryuzaki would ask you to be on the task force. He told me that he wanted me to bring you here so he could question you about the case, but I didn't know that he'd want you to _help_ with it." He sighed and leaned his cheek on his palm in slight annoyance. It had only been a week since Hikaru had joined them, but so far, the only thing she had accomplished, that was related to the Kira case, was discovering that Kira was killing more frequently than usual.

"You're no help, Light-kun," Hikaru replied, sticking her tongue out at the boy beside her. She then repositioned her head so that now she was looking at Ryuzaki to her right.

During her first week with the task force, Hikaru had met the other two members, Kanzo Mogi and Shuichi Aizawa, and was now working as diligently as possible on the Kira case. But there was something about Ryuzaki that was irking her, something that made her raise her eyebrow in curiosity every time it happened.

Ryuzaki ate nothing but sweets.

To add to that, he didn't seem to gain any weight.

At the moment, he was devouring a piece of cake as he worked on Kira research.

Hikaru stared at his cake, trying her hardest not to blink, in an imitation of Ryuzaki. How in the world could he eat sweets all day—_every _day—and not gain any weight? And the fact that she hadn't seen him eat anything that _didn't_ have sugar was making her metabolism feel bad.

At this point, Ryuzaki felt Hikaru's eyes on his face and turned his head to look at her. "Yes, Hikaru-san?" he mumbled, looking at her in curiosity. Was her head on the keyboard because she was bored, or tired? No, she had mentioned that she found the Kira case hard to research, so that must be it. But why was she staring at him like that?

"Cake," she said simply, pointing at the baked good on the plate in front of him. She turned her eyes to be starting at _it_ now, licking her lips in an attempt to make Ryuzaki feel uncomfortable—as if she was going to steal it from him.

Ryuzaki kept his eyes on Hikaru, following her movements as she focused on his cake. What was she trying to do? Maybe she wanted a piece as well. But if that was the case, why didn't she just _ask_? He studied the look on her face—wide-eyed, intent, something along the lines of…wanting to eat _that cake there_. But Ryuzaki knew enough about Hikaru in a week to understand that she wouldn't just steal someone's cake; she was too considerate. Sure, she might do it out of spite, but she'd give it back, _without_ eating it. But the look on her face _clearly_ said she wanted the cake. Maybe it was that…she was being annoyed by the fact that Ryuzaki had a sweet tooth, and she was just getting back at him by making him think she was going to take his cake. That seemed more like her than actually _stealing_ it. He turned back to the monitor, a small smile on his lips. "Your plan isn't working, Hikaru-san."

"Huh?" Hikaru blinked, looking back at Ryuzaki in confusion. How had he known what she was doing? Well, the real question was, did he _really_ know? She grumbled and sat back up, glaring at Ryuzaki and pouting. "Who says I was planning anything? No one else but you, Ryuzaki." She looked back at her computer screen to see that it was completely blank. "Ah! What happened to my computer?"

"You weren't using it, so I turned it off," Light spoke up, shrugging as he kept his eyes on his own screen. He was starting to get annoyed by this whole "thing" between the two, so he decided to take it out on Hikaru. He placed his hand against his forehead, leaning against his arm in exhaustion. Hikaru acted a lot like a five-year-old at times, and it seemed that Misa, being the hyperactive blonde she was, was falling in love with her. What was so great about her? She was crazy, and highly annoying, and she whined more than anyone could stand. The rest of the task force seemed to agree, except Ryuzaki and Matsuda: Hikaru had only met Mogi and Aizawa once, and had completely busied herself with playing with Aizawa's afro. Soichiro didn't seem to have an opinion of her, and if he did, he hadn't yet voiced it.

Hikaru glared at Light, re-turning on her computer. "You're a jerk, Light-kun," she muttered, sticking her tongue out at him. She turned back to Ryuzaki, who was taking another bite of his cake. "Since you seem to know _everything_, Ryuzaki, what was I planning to do?"

He glanced at her, his mouth full of cake bits. "You were staring at my cake to make me assume that you were going to steal it from me," he said simply, not caring to swallow before speaking.

Hikaru's face flushed with red as she narrowed her eyes at him. "You cheater. You totally read my mind!" She crossed her arms in a kind of defeat. But she wasn't about to lose this. "You know that because you're addicted to sugar, and you're just paranoid that everyone around you'll just steal it from you. Isn't that right, Light-kun?" she added, turning to face the brunette beside her.

Light glanced at her from the corner of his eye. He didn't have to think long before deciding that this argument was stupid. So therefore, he'd do his best to ignore it, and them.

Seeing that she was being ignored, Hikaru scrunched up her face, now making a kind of "mad at Light" look. "Fine, be mean," she said. "I don't need your testimony to know that Ryuzaki is a sugar fiend." She sat back in her seat, taking in a deep sigh. "You're both jerks, you know," she added, putting a hand over her eyes in exasperation. "Light-kun, I don't see _how_ Misa loves you, and Ryuzaki, I finally understand why you don't have a woman by your side. YOU. ARE. WEIRD."

Ryuzaki kept his eyes on Hikaru as she spoke. A woman by his side? Because he was _weird_? That obviously wasn't the reason; maybe Hikaru was forgetting what Light had told her. In any case, Ryuzaki took another bite of cake, chewing slowly. "I don't need a woman by my side, Hikaru-san," he mumbled, lowering his eyes and looking at his cake.

"You don't _need_ a woman?" Hikaru responded, sitting up and removing her hand from her eyes. "Good! Because no one would want to fuck you anyway!"

Both Ryuzaki and Light looked at her with wide eyes, surprised at her choice in words. Hikaru had sworn quite frequently within the past week, but she hadn't gone so far as to say the "f-word" before then. And the context she had used it in? Vulgar.

Light sighed and pushed her chair so that she was now facing him. "Hikaru, using those kinds of words make you sound stupid, and present the kind of American that the Japanese are expecting," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders and staring into her eyes as he spoke calmly.

Hikaru narrowed her eyes and pushed her lips out so she was pouting. He liked touching her shoulders, didn't he? She stuck her tongue out at him, giving him a small smile. "Okay, Light-kun. I won't say 'fuck' anymore." She then wriggled her way out of his grasp and turned herself to now be facing Ryuzaki. "So…do you eat anything_ but_ sugar then?"

His eyes, after wandering back to his computer screen momentarily, focused back on Hikaru. "No. Sugar is incredible fuel to get the brain working, and thankfully, thinking burns calories better than exercise does." He took another bite as he was talking, and kept the fork in his mouth, as if he was trying to suck all of the frosting from the prongs.

"So," Hikaru murmured slowly, "you eat nothing but sweets and you never exercise." She pondered this thought before asking another question. "Do you wear anything but that outfit? Or can you just think your way into new clothes that look exactly like those?" she asked mockingly. "And! You don't wear socks! What in the _world_ is wrong with you?"

Ryuzaki stared at her, his eyes now fixated on her face. She was asking what was wrong with him. Was there really such a simple answer? He happened to be the greatest detective of the century, and he possessed the trait that most people would call "mad genius." Of course he'd be different. But couldn't she just accept it? "What is wrong with me is none of your concern, Hikaru-san," he mumbled, placing the last bit of cake in his mouth and staring at his plate in slight sadness.

"What?" Hikaru yelled, standing up in fury. "You say it's _none_ of my concern? Gah, you're so full of yourself, Ryuzaki! Why can't it be my concern, huh? Why does everything have to be such a goddamn secret with you? Why can't someone just get to _know you_?" She turned on her hell and made her way to the stairs, shielding her eyes and face from Light and Ryuzaki; she didn't want them to see the fact that she had started to cry.

Once Hikaru had gone, slamming the door on her way out, Light turned to Ryuzaki. "Wow. Who could've known she would've freaked out that much?"

Ignoring his words, Ryuzaki placed his thumb against his lips in thought. Were those _tears_ he had seen before she left? What did she have to cry about? Was she really that upset about him keeping secrets? It was necessary, to save his life. But the thing was, Ryuzaki hadn't meant to make her feel that way. It just sort of…_happened_. Ryuzaki wasn't good with people, and by now, Hikaru should've understood that. "Should I go apologise to her, Light-kun?" he asked softly, his thumb now hanging from his lips.

"Don't both, Ryuzaki," Light replied with a laugh, leaning back in his chair. "A girl like Hikaru'll get frustrated over something unimportant, and will want to sulk for awhile." He waved his hand, appearing as if he understood the fairer sex more than anyone else. "You can apologise, if you want, when she's not mad at you."

"Hn. I'll do that," Ryuzaki replied, staring up at the ceiling. He liked Hikaru—he really did—and he couldn't understand what he was saying wrong to her. Whatever it was, he hoped he could fix it.


	14. Song

Chapter fourteen – Song

Hikaru didn't leave her room for three days. The day after she was angered by Ryuzaki, Misa came by and pounded on her door for awhile before going back to her own room and telling Light, Ryuzaki, and the rest of the task force that Hikaru wasn't responding. Ryuzaki had stood up, attempting to go and enter Hikaru's room using his master key, but Light had pulled him down, telling him that when Hikaru was ready to leave, she would, whether it was because she wanted to, or if she needed food.

Finally, on the third day, Hikaru emerged from her room and made her way to the main research room. As she opened the door and went down the stairs, Matsuda, who had been sitting in one of the spinnable chairs, stood up in excitement. "Light! Ryuzaki! Hikaru came out of her room!"

Hikaru blatantly ignored this, and made her way to the chair that she had claimed as hers, sitting down and staring at the powerless computer in front of her. After a few minutes of her sitting there and nobody but Matsuda trying to get her attention, she spoke.

"You know what?" Hikaru said, directing her question seemingly at no one, but actually asking Ryuzaki. She placed her cheek against her palm, leaning against her arm in boredom.

As if he understood that it was he Hikaru was talking to, Ryuzaki turned his head slightly to look at her. But before he could say anything, Light quickly stood up, almost in a panic, grabbed his father and Matsuda, mumbling about some television show, and dragged them out of the room.

Hikaru's face instantly turned pink as she sat up in a rush, looking around the room and seeing that she and Ryuzaki had been left alone. Where were Aizawa and Mogi? Her heart began to beat faster, and the pace of her breath quickened. "U-um...that is..." she began to say; her lips and tongue seemed to be broken. "Ryuzaki..."

"Yes?" he replied, watching her carefully. His eyes took in the brightness of her cheeks, which were informing him that she was thoroughly embarrassed. Because they were alone? Though, it _was_ strange that Light had left as quickly as he did. Why would he do that? Whatever the case, the circumstances were making her feel extremely uncomfortable. "What is it, Hikaru-san?"

Without answering him, she stood up, making the short way from her chair to Ryuzaki's, avoiding his eyes as the blush in her cheeks slowly faded away. A broad, mischievous grin graced her lips as she placed her hands on the back of his chair.

Ryuzaki glanced over his shoulder at the girl behind him, staring at her in curiosity. What was she doing? Had everyone in the building, besides him, gone completely insane?

The grin on Hikaru's lips widened as she began to push the chair, making it spin around with Ryuzaki still on it. Ryuzaki immediately grabbed the arms of the chair, holding on for dear life as he searched for Hikaru to make her stop. Amazingly, he wasn't being made dizzy by all this. "Hikaru-san, stop!"

"No way!" she yelled, giggling as she continued to spin the chair round and round. The reason for doing this was a simple one to understand: Hikaru was bored, and Ryuzaki sat weird in a spinny chair. Easy as that. But it was also Hikaru's way of saying that she had forgiven him, and wasn't angry at him anymore.

But Ryuzaki was getting annoyed. He let go of one of the chair's arms with a hand and reached out to grab onto something that would make the spinning stop. He touched Hikaru's shoulder, making her scream, and therefore, making Ryuzaki alarmed enough to fall out of the chair. A loud clattering noise was made as the chair hit the ground, followed by a loud scream.

"AH! Ryuzaki!" Hikaru cried, shutting her eyes and hiding her face in her palms. When no answer came, she came out from behind her hands to discover that the panda-man had landed on top of her. Hikaru's face turned bright red, and she squeaked.

Ryuzaki, on the other hand, had only noticed that his landing had been nice and soft, as if the ground wasn't as hard as it actually was. Was that warmth he felt? He looked down to see that he was on top of a very red Hikaru, her face turning darker every second. "Oh, Hikaru-san," he stated simply, getting off of her and holding out a hand to help her up.

Hikaru looked up at him, her cheeks still burning. Had he not noticed that he had just _landed on top of her_? He landed on a girl, and he didn't even take advantage of the situation. Why? What a weird guy. All he did was get off of her—he didn't even rejoice or freak out! She shook her head and stood up on her own. "N-no, Ryuzaki," she mumbled, going back to her seat in front of her computer. The bigger question for her was...why had she _blushed_ so much?

Ryuzaki went back to his chair as well, picking it up and setting it right-side-up again. As he sat back down, folding his knees to his chest as usual, he glanced at Hikaru, who was now waiting for her computer to turn on and start. "Hikaru-san?" he murmured, making her look at him in slight curiosity. "I hope you know that my making you angry was unintentional, and...I'm sorry." He then turned back to his own computer and took a sip from the cup of coffee that had been sitting there.

Hikaru stared at the panda-man in slight shock. Had he just _apologised_? Seriously? Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she shook her head in denial. "N-no, it's okay, Ryuzaki. Don't worry about it." Her mind was reeling again. But just then, a thought popped into her head. "Hey, Ryuzaki. You haven't heard me sing yet, have you?"

He perked up at the sudden change in subject. "You sing, Hikaru-san?" he asked, looking at her curiously. Though, it made sense. Hikaru was such a music fanatic; it should have been _obvious_ that she could sing. "So that means you'll sing for me?"

Hikaru's cheeks turned pink again and she narrowed her eyes. "Not _for_ you, Ryuzaki. Just...in your presence." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Light-kun, Yagami-san and Misa have already heard me sing, so you're a step behind," she continued with a victorious-sounding laugh. In any case, she cleared her throat and closed her eyes, preparing herself for a performance while Ryuzaki stared anxiously. Her eyes shot open and her voice filled the empty room.

"_I'm sleeping my way out of this one  
"With anyone who'll lie down.  
"I'll be stuck fixated on one star  
"When the world is crashing down.  
"I keep telling myself,  
"I keep telling myself  
"I'm not the desperate type.  
"(But you've got me looking in through blinds.)"_

If Ryuzaki had been the type to do so, his jaw would have dropped to the floor. Hikaru's voice was absolutely _beautiful_; he hadn't expected such a delicate sound to come from the loud, angry girl it belonged to.

She continued, closing her eyes and swaying her head to the song.

"_Sitting out dances on the wall,  
"Trying to forget everything that isn't you.  
"I'm not going home alone,  
"'Cos I don't do too well on my own."_

Opening her eyes, Hikaru looked up at Ryuzaki; apparently she was done singing the song. "So, erm...what'd you think, Ryuzaki?" she asked softly, not letting her eyes connect with his.

"Well," Ryuzaki started, his thumb sitting snugly in his mouth, "your voice is very lovely. I'd never have guessed that you could sing like that." He sounded like he was being insincere, but he truly meant it. "Why did you wait a week and a half to show me your ability?"

Hikaru's cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. "U-um, well..." What could she say? That she thought he didn't know anything about music, so he would think that _any noise_ sounded good? That had been her initial, subconscious guess, but...she couldn't tell him that. That would be extremely rude. So, the next best thing to do would be to lie. "I-I thought my singing would take time away from research for the Kira case, and so you wouldn't want to hear it." Well, that was the partial truth.

Ryuzaki scanned Hikaru's face, his eyes examining her lightly-tinted cheeks. She was embarrassed? Again? The corners of his lips turned up in a slight smile as he replied. "That's far from the truth, Hikaru-san. Whenever you want to sing, I guess you official permission to do so."

Her face lit up as Ryuzaki spoke. "Ah, really? You mean it, Ryuzaki?" Hikaru lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his body in a hug, squeezing him tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, _thank you_!"

Struggling to breathe a bit, Ryuzaki patted the raven-haired girl's back. "Y-you're welcome, Hikaru-san. It's the least I can do for a fellow task member. Now, if you don't mind, I need to get back to work."

Hikaru blushed once again, realising just then that she and Ryuzaki were having too much contact. She let go of the panda-eyed man and bowed her head. "Thank you, Ryuzaki." She stood up straight and grinned at him, then cupped a hand around her mouth. "Hey, Light-kun, Yagami-san, Matsuda! Me and Ryuzaki have made up! You guys can come back now!"

Not a second passed before the three said men, along with the afroed Aizawa and the silent Mogi, returned to the room, headed by a very eager Matsuda.

Grinning, the young man rushed to Hikaru's side, a faint blush in his cheeks. "You made up with Ryuzaki? That's _great_, Hikaru! Have you told Misa-Misa yet?"

Hikaru sweat-dropped. "No, of course not. She's gonna squeeze me to death when I do, though." She sighed, then glanced over at Mogi and Aizawa, who had both sat down in two identical chairs in front of computers. "Ne, Aizawa-san, Mogi-san! Everyone!" The two older men, along with "everyone" else, looked at the girl in confusion. "Now that everyone's here—excluding Misa," she said, interrupting Matsuda before he could say anything, "lemme sing for you. Both Ryuzaki and Light-kun have said my singing's good, so—" she took a breath—"here it goes!" And without any okays to do so, Hikaru began to sing.

"_Check yes, Juliet.  
"Are you with me?  
"Rain is falling down on the sidewalk.  
"I won't go until you come outside."_

Light, who had been sitting down in his own chair, turned to look at the ebony-haired girl. She'd said the American name "Juliet"... Was she toying with him? Or, better yet...was that her _real name_?

"_Check yes, Juliet.  
"Kill the limbo.  
"I'll keep tossing rocks at your window.  
"There's no turning back for us tonight.  
"Lace up your shoes_—_  
"Ay-oh-ay-ohh_—_  
"Here's how we do.  
"Run baby run.  
"Don't ever look back.  
"They'll tear us apart if you give them the chance.  
"Don't sell your heart_. _  
"Don't say we're not meant to be.  
"Run baby run.  
"Forever we'll be you and me."_

Once she had finished singing, Hikaru bowed her head. Looking back at the men, she grinned. "What do you think of that one?"

Aizawa shook his head, his eyes narrowing. "We're not here to listen to some high school girl sing English songs; we're here to catch Kira!" Mogi nodded in agreement.

Hikaru stuck her tongue out at them. "Well, I'm sorry. But Ryuzaki gave me official permission to sing whenever I want to." She gave Ryuzaki a quick wink and sauntered over to the stairs. "Well, erm...I'm off to alert Misa..." She bowed her head, then ran up the stairs and out the door.

Once she was gone, the three oldest men stared at Ryuzaki in annoyance.

"Why'd you go and do that, Ryuzaki?" Aizawa moaned, placing a hand against his forehead.

"Well, _I_ think Hikaru's singing is beautiful," Matsuda replied, nodding and crossing his arms. "I agree with Ryuzaki's decision."

"That's just because you're in love with her, Matsuda."

"Am not!"

Light glanced at Ryuzaki in the midst of the older men's discussion. "Are you guessing what I am, Ryuzaki?"

The panda-man placed his thumb against his lips. "Yes. What Hikaru-san did—"

"—is a clue. She's going to tell us her name through song!"

* * *

The two songs that Hikaru sings in this are "7 Minutes In Heaven (Atavan Halen)" by Fall Out Boy and "Check Yes Juliet" by We The Kings.


	15. Change

I wrote this part two years ago, and you can definitely tell, especially when Hikaru starts rambling about Fall Out Boy. It was actually kind of embarrassing for me to reread after all of the changes I've gone through, so please don't pay too much attention to it, especially since it has nothing to do with the rest of the story.

* * *

Chapter fifteen – Change

Keyboard keys were struck by delicate fingers as Hikaru typed on her laptop, staring fixatedly at the screen in boredom. At the moment, she and Ryuzaki were the only two in the room—Light had started attending To-Oh University the day before, and the other, older men of the task force were out on some "police business," according to Ryuzaki at least. As for Misa, she was up in her room planning a date between Light and herself.

As she stared at the computer screen, Hikaru grumbled softly to herself, obviously fairly bored. She was tempted to go to some internet site and start playing a computer game, but she wasn't really in the mood. Placing a finger to her lips in thought, Hikaru stared at the ceiling, attempting to think of possible ways to make the research more...entertaining. Grinning, she reached for the computer's mouse, quickly bringing up the program "iTunes" and typing the words "Fall Out Boy" into the search bar. In an instant, over thirty songs popped up in the "found" section.

Her smile widening, Hikaru double-clicked on one of the songs "The Take Over, The Breaks Over," to be exact) and turned up the speaker volume. "Ryuzaki," she murmured, glancing over at him and smiling. "Do you have any idea at all who this is?"

The panda-eyed man glanced at her using his peripheral vision, and without answering her, turned back to his own computer. Couldn't she go four seconds without doing something music-related? Sure, her voice was pretty, and he already knew that music was the number one thing in her life—he'd even learned that in American, her high school had been one that was dedicated to the subject—but at this point, Ryuzaki was about ready to ignore her. In fact, he'd do that right now.

In the wake of his silence, Hikaru pushed her lips out in a pout. Fine, if he was going to let her words pass over his head, she'd talk anyway. "It's _Fall Out Boy_, in case you were wondering. The greatest band to come out of Chicago; they're the best boys of Illinois." She stuck her tongue out at Ryuzaki before turning back to her laptop and clicking on another song ("Saturday"). "First off, there's Joe Trohman, the guitarist. I think right now he's got this huge afro, kinda like Aizawa-san's, except we call it a Jew-Fro, because he's Jewish." She giggled at this, making Ryuzaki glance at her curiously. "But he also smokes pot, which really isn't cool. He says his dream is to smoke it with some rapper named Young Jeezy or something." She shrugged. "But then there's the drummer, Andy Hurley, and me and my friends came up with this little joke, because Andy looks like Jesus and someone said that I am the Christian God, so we'd say that Andy, as Jesus, was my son." Hikaru smiled at the memory, but even Ryuzaki could see that the reminiscing was making her miss her American friends. "But anyway, Andy's a vegan, and he's got a lot of tattoos on his arms. And then there's Patrick Stump, the singer and composer. His voice can go so high! And low too! So that makes me jealous." The current song ended, and went to the next one, "I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me." "Plus, the melodies he comes up with are really awesome and super original. Like this one, see?" Hikaru glanced at Ryuzaki to see that his full, undivided attention was on her. Her cheeks instantly turned red. Really? He was listening? A small smile graced her lips as she continued speaking. "W-well, um..." It seemed that Ryuzaki's focus on her was making her flustered. Hikaru bit her lip as she attempted to recover her voice. "Oh yeah! Y'see, Patrick's got his own kind of style. Like! He wears hats all the time! I'm pretty sure I've only seen, like, three pictures of him without a hat..."

During this entire time, Ryuzaki had been staring at Hikaru's lips, marvelling at how fast they moved when she talked about something she was interested in. Did all women do this, or was it just Hikaru? According to Light, Misa talked a lot when they were alone together, but Misa tended to talk a lot _anyway_. When Hikaru spoke, she did so with spirit, and passion. And maybe...love?

"Oh! The last member of FOB." Of course, she was continuing with her explanation of the band, and it was then that Ryuzaki decided to tune back in. "The most gorgeous man in the whole world. He's short, but he's got the best smile I've ever seen." Hikaru sighed, obviously love struck. "He's the one who writes the lyrics of all their songs, and I'm inspired by him. Oh! And before I forget, someone hacked into his cell phone and put pictures of his penis online." She let out a few giggles that sounded more like cackles. "But anyway, his name is Pe—"

"Hikaru-san," Ryuzaki mumbled, causing the charcoal-haired girl in front of him to stop talking immediately. "May I ask you about your alias? I've been wondering about it since the day we met, but I haven't had the chance to ask you."  
She tilted her head in curiosity, blinking unsteadily. "My name? Oh..." She glanced down in disappointment for a moment. But Ryuzaki had seemed so interested in what she was talking about, so why bring up her name _now_? What a letdown. "We only came to Japan in the first place because my father was transferred here. Of course, I was devastated, because I had to leave all my friends in Chicago, but I was also really excited to come here, because of all the Kira hype," she continued, nodding to emphasise her past excitement. "I told my dad about Kira, and how he kills with a name and a face, and he flipped out on me; he and my mother had their names legally changed, and I just have an alias. "She glanced at the computer screen for a moment before looking at Ryuzaki. "As for the actual name, I thought the name 'Hikaru' was cute for a girl, even though it's typically for boys."

Ryuzaki watched Hikaru as she stopped speaking and glanced to her side. When she talked about her name, the passion seemed to leave her, and even her body language changed. She had gone from speaking excitedly and sitting up straight to mumbling in boredom and slouching. By asking one simple question, it seemed that Ryuzaki had turned her into the living dead. "Thank you, Hikaru-san. That's what I wanted to know." He then turned back to his computer, spinning his chair in slight amusement to face it.

Hikaru bit her lip as he turned away from her. What in the _world_ had just happened? She was talking to Ryuzaki, and he had been listening. Like...what had they been like? Almost...like a couple. Hikaru blushed at this thought, kicking herself mentally. How could she even _think_ that? She and Ryuzaki couldn't be a..._couple_. Hell, they couldn't even technically be considered _friends_! The only thing that they were would be two people on the same task force. That, and nothing more.  
After an hour more of research, Light came through the door, holding a brief case and dressed in a tan suit. He cocked his head at the lone two sitting in front of computers and the sound of odd music filling the room. "Is that your music, Hikaru?" he asked, making his way to the pair.

"Ah, Light-kun!" The raven-haired girl turned to face him as he sat down next to her. "You're back from school. How was your second day?" God, she was beginning to sound like his mother. She sweatdropped at the thought.

"It was okay." Light turned on his computer and glanced at Hikaru, who was still watching him intently; she obviously wanted to know more about what happened during his day. "Well, basically today was another 'get to know the teacher, get to know the student' day, like yesterday." He shot her a small smile. "Why so interested, Hikaru?"

Her cheeks turned bright pink, as expected, and she looked away from the brunette in embarrassment. "N-no reason, Light-kun. I just..." Care? About him? Please. Though, she had been curious; maybe _that_ was why she had asked. "I just wanted to know," Hikaru finished, sticking her tongue out at him. "I'm not the one in college, and I've never been in one. So I was being nosy. Can't I ask?"

"No, it's fine, Hikaru." Light turned back to his computer, his chin now resting in his palm. Her attitude toward him had changed a bit; now it seemed like she was _forcing_ herself to be rude to him, when really, maybe, she...cared? Could that be it? He glanced to his right to see that Hikaru had gone back to searching for songs on her computer. Maybe she was becoming attached to him. A small smile came to his lips thoughtlessly. If she _was_ attached to him now, that would make him feel...feel...

"Light-kun."

The sudden call of his name jerked Light out of his adolescent thoughts. "Huh? What is it?"

Ryuzaki, the one who had voiced the brunette's name, turned his chair to face the two teenagers—Hikaru was intrigued now. "Hikaru-san chose her name because it was cute and different. Her father was the one who made her have an alias."

Cocking an eyebrow, Light tilted his head slightly. Was that it? That's what he wanted to tell him? He sighed and put a hand against his forehead. "Okay. Thanks, Ryuzaki." But before he could turn back to his computer, the panda-man spoke again.

"You should stop giving her grief over her name, Light-kun," he said, chewing on his thumbnail. "And stop making her feel uncomfortable, whether it's by making her feel embarrassed or by making her think you're attracted to her." Ryuzaki was getting annoyed by Light teasing Hikaru, and at this point, he was getting sick of it. So he'd speak up for her and defend her.

Light's eyes narrowed slightly. Who the hell was Ryuzaki to say that to him? He could do whatever he pleased when it came to Hikaru. At this point in time, teasing her was just a pet project; his real missing concerning her was to figure out her name. So far, he only had the possibility of "Juliet." But in any case, he glared at Ryuzaki before turning back to his computer. He'd ignore him for now.

As for Hikaru, she was completely amazed. Ryuzaki had defended her—really? She stared at him with wide eyes and an open mouth, not sure of what to do. She could thank him, but it would only tell Light that he had bothered her. Instead, Hikaru nodded her head slightly and smiled a bit before turning back to her own computer. She had to admit, being defended by Ryuzaki was...very weird. Even weirder than Ryuzaki himself. It was just that the man was so apathetic about basically _anything_ except for catching Kira, so Hikaru was forced to assume that he wouldn't care about anything else. _Especially _her.


	16. Surprise

Sorry I didn't update for nearly a month. I was on vacation and busy doing other things. But here's another chapter! Please enjoy.

* * *

Chapter sixteen – Surprise

"LIIIIIIGHT!" The small blonde girl came running into the main investigation room, waving her arms in excitement. "Guess what Misa-Misa just found out!"

The brunette sighed and glanced over his shoulder at her. It was early in the morning, and already he was being irritated by her. Deciding to humour her, he put on "Light's happy face." "What did you find out, Misa?"

She squealed and threw her arms around his neck, making the others in the room look at her in confusion. "Roo's birthday is in two days! _Two_! So we gotta get a party ready for her!"

Ryuzaki glanced at Misa upon hearing the news of Hikaru's fast-approaching birthday. Hikaru hadn't mentioned anything about it to him. Why tell Misa? He bit on his thumb, feeling slightly irked. Maybe Hikaru hadn't said anything because she wasn't the kind of person that would go around demanding attention and presents for her birthday. But still. Why tell Misa?

"What a great idea, Misa-Misa!" Matsuda exclaimed, standing up and making his way to the blonde. "Do you know how old she's gonna be? We have to get her presents! Does anyone know what she likes?"

Misa sweatdropped. "Don't worry, Matsu. I already bought a few things for her. She likes CDs mostly." She stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't you remember when we all went out shopping? She bought nothing but music things!"

The older man sweatdropped, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Oh, r-right." He then glanced at Ryuzaki and Light. "Misa-Misa's right though. We've gotta throw a party for Hikaru—a surprise party!"

Light sighed as he glanced at Ryuzaki. Why on _earth_ should he have to help plan a party for that obnoxious girl? He had more important things to do. But then again, if he helped with her party, she might grow to trust him more. And wouldn't that be worth it? "All right, I'm up for it."

"Yay!" the blonde chirped, throwing her arms around Light's neck again. "I knew you'd help me, Light! Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!" She then detached herself from her boyfriend to look at Ryuzaki. "Are you gonna help with Roo's party, Ryuzaki?"

The panda-man paused before answering her. _Should_ he help? Sure, there would be cake, and that in itself would make the party worth it. But other than that...it would make Hikaru happy; her voice would be filled with passion again. With a small smile, he nodded in acceptance. "Yes, I'll help. It'll give us all a chance to..._bond_, as well." He shot a glance at Light at these words, watching his reaction to them.

The brunette's eyes narrowed slightly, but he made his body language very calm. "Great. So it's Misa, Ryuzaki, Matsuda and me. What about Dad, Mogi and Aizawa?"

Misa blew a raspberry at the mention of the three older men. "They won't help, I'm sure of it. Monchichi and Motchi don't like Roo anyway, so they're gonna be fun-suckers," she continued, hands on her hips in disapproval.

"So it's only us four then," Matsuda added a finger against his chin in thought. "Do you think that Hikaru'll be happy?"

"Of course she will!" Misa exclaimed, nodding to further illustrate her answer. "She's getting cake! And presents! What more could someone need to be happy?" She ceased talking for a moment as a thought occurred to her. "A boyfriend. A boyfriend would make her happy." Blinking, she paused again to think. "Does anyone know where Misa can buy a boy?"

Both Light and Matsuda sweatdropped. Didn't Misa know that purchasing people was _illegal_? Well, maybe she was kidding... On second thought, that was impossible—Misa was incapable of making a joke.

Breaking the awkward silence, Ryuzaki bit his thumbnail anxiously. "We have to make sure that no news of a party gets to Hikaru-san, then," he mumbled, chewing on his thumb. "If we want this to be a surprise party, that is."

"Okay!" Misa cheered, throwing her arms into the air. Glancing at Matsuda, she smirked in amusement. "That means you too, Matsu."

"Aw, Misa-Misa!" The older man bit his lip in slight embarrassment. "I won't tell, I _promise_."

xxxxxx

"Um, Misa?" Hikaru questioned, cocking her head as she was pulled by the other girl. "Why are you dragging me to the main room?"

Glancing over her shoulder, the blonde put a finger to her lips, grinning at the young girl. "It's a secret~"

Hikaru sighed. It was irritating, but Misa seemed really excited about something. What could make her this ecstatic? Knowing Misa, it was probably something concerning Light. An accomplishment, perhaps? Maybe...he had discovered the identity of Kira! She broke into a smile at this thought-if that was the case, then that meant Light wasn't Kira and Ryuzaki wasn't L! Great!

Suddenly, Misa let out a giggle. Hikaru brought herself out of her thoughts to discover that they had made their way to the door of the main research room. "We're he-ere!" the blonde sang as she opened the door, her fingers still gripped around Hikaru's wrist.

The room was pitch black—even the computer monitors were dark. Misa and Hikaru stepped carefully down the stairs, watching their feet and making sure they wouldn't fall. When the two reached the bottom of the stairs, Misa let go of the other girl and disappeared into the darkness. Oh, perfect.

"Misa! Where the _hell_ did you go?" Hikaru yelled into the shadows. She waited a few seconds for a response, but didn't receive one. Uh oh. She bit her lip as she swatted at the air, attempting to hit the blonde, but failed. "Dammit, Misa—"

She was interrupted as the lights were switched on and four people appeared, two of them yelling, "SURPRISE!" These two, of course, were Misa and Matsuda. The other two were Light and Ryuzaki—Light was standing with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes focused on Hikaru, and Ryuzaki was already devouring a piece of cake, standing awkwardly beside Light.

Misa ran to Hikaru and grabbed her wrist again, dragging her to the three others. "Happy birthday, Roo!" she cheered, bringing her over to the cake that sat on a nearby table.

"Huh?" Hikaru glanced from the cake to Misa in shock. "You mean...you put a party together? For _me_?" A small smile crept onto her lips. "You know...you guys really didn't have to do this," she continued, glancing over her shoulder to look at the four others.

"B-b-but we did, Hikaru!" Matsuda insisted, suddenly appearing by the ebony-haired girl's side. "We care about you, Hikaru, so we had to do something special for you."

At his words, her cheeks turned a light pink as she glanced over her shoulder at the other two men. Like _they_ would actually care about her—she almost laughed at the thought. But to be honest, the one who would be most likely to "care" about her would probably be Ryuzaki. Hikaru already knew that Light abhorred her and only _acted_ like he gave a damn. In any case, she grinned at the four others in wordless thanks and cut herself a piece of cake. Glancing at Ryuzaki, a sly smirk suddenly graced her lips. "It didn't take too long for you to get some cake, huh?"

The panda-man perked up as she addressed him, quickly glancing down at his plate. "Of course," he replied, his opaque eyes looking back up at Hikaru. "Misa-san was able to buy such an exquisite cake, I'm quite impressed."

This statement made Misa beam. "Really, Ryuzaki?" she asked, grinning at him. She flipped her hair over her shoulder in a superior sort of way. "That's because Misa knows what kind of cake Ryuzaki and Roo like."

"Huh?" Hikaru perked up at Misa's words. "Are you suggesting that me and Ryuzaki like the same kind of cake, Misa?" she asked, tilting her head slightly as she raised an eyebrow.

"Sure," the blonde replied, looking at Hikaru with an odd look on her face. "Roo's favourite kind of cake is strawberry cheesecake—"

"—and so is Ryuzaki's," Light cut in, placing his hand on Misa's shoulder to shut her up. "Can we just eat now?" he asked, his voice strained in irritation.

Hikaru stuck her tongue out at the brunette, figuring that he knew what Ryuzaki's preferred type of cake was because they had lived together for so long. "Fine, Light-kun," she replied, getting her cake and hopping over to her computer, quickly starting it up in the defence of "We need tunes."

Ryuzaki let himself watch carefully as Hikaru brought up the program "iTunes" and clicked on the band Metro Station. She looked so...so ecstatic, so lively now. Was it because of this party? If it was, then... His eyes scanned her face as she decided on the song "Shake It," clicking on it swiftly and turning around to face the four party-goers.

"Now we can _really_ get this party started!" Hikaru exclaimed, quickly setting her plate down and throwing her arms into the air as the song started to play. She glanced at Matsuda and Light, both of whom had grabbed a piece of cake, and then at Misa, who was watching Hikaru in excitement—cakeless. "Aren't you gonna get a piece of cake, Misa?"

"Of course not," the blonde replied, shaking her head to further illustrate her answer. "Cake makes you fat, and as a model, Misa can't get fat!"

"I have to disagree with that, Misa-san," Ryuzaki commented, slowly putting the last bite of cake in his mouth. "As long as you burn enough calories, you won't gain any weight. The best manner of doing that being the way of thinking—"

"Don't you start, Ryuzaki!" Misa screeched, thrusting her forefinger into his chest in slight anger. "You're calling Misa stupid again, aren't you?"

Matsuda and Hikaru sweatdropped as Light shook his head in annoyance. Did she really have to get so offended by anything Ryuzaki said? But then again, Hikaru was typically the one that got heated over Ryuzaki's words.

At this point in time, Light tuned into the song, trying to listen to the lyrics:

"_I'll take you home if you don't leave me at the front door.  
"Your body's cold, but girl, we're getting so warm.  
"And I was thinking of ways that I could get inside.  
"Tonight you're falling in love (let me go now).  
"This feeling's tearing me up (here we go now)."_

Light raised an eyebrow at the somewhat racy lyrics. This song was _obviously_ about sex, but he could understand why Hikaru would choose this song for a party—it had a good dance beat to it.

Quickly ignoring Misa and Ryuzaki's "argument," Hikaru perked up at the ongoing song. She glanced at Light and noticed that he was paying attention to it. Grinning, she took a few steps and stood directly next to him. "Do you like this song, Light-kun?"

The brunette beside her glanced at her quickly. "Not really, Hikaru. The lyrics are really—"

"Perverted?" she finished for him, sweatdropping at how blunt she had put it. "Yeah, but it's a good song. Listen." Without waiting for any confirmation, Hikaru closed her eyes and threw her hands into the air, dancing along to the song and singing with it:

"_Now if she does it like this, will you do it like that?  
"Now if she touches like this, will you touch her right back?  
"Now if she moves like this, will you move like that?  
"Come on!  
"Shake, shake, shake, shake, shake it!"_

Once the black-haired girl opened her mouth, Ryuzaki and Misa ended their discussion and, along with Matsuda, focused their attention on her.

Misa grinned at the other girl's voice, completely forgetting about her earlier argument with Ryuzaki. But right now, she didn't realise it at this point, but this was the second time she had ever heard Hikaru sing a song—and about sex and dancing, too!

As for Ryuzaki, he had been surprised at the sudden appearance of Hikaru's voice, but nevertheless, he was still dazzled by it. A small smile came to his lips as he watched her dance, seemingly without a care as she threw her arms above her head and moved her body to the beat. Somehow, for an unknown reason, Ryuzaki liked watching Hikaru whenever she was doing something she enjoyed.

"_Your lips tremble but your eyes are in a straight stare.  
"We're on the bed but your clothes are laying right there.  
"And I was thinking of places that I could hide.  
"So now you're falling in love.  
"This feeling's tearing me up."_

Matsuda quickly set down his plate and jumped in front of Hikaru, making her stop dancing and look at him with a raised eyebrow. "Come on, Hikaru, let's dance!"

She smiled slightly at Matsuda's proposal and nodded. "All right..." Taking the initiative, she grabbed both his hands with her own and began wiggling her body to the beat.

The older man, not to mention the three others, was taking aback by Hikaru's blunt actions. Nevertheless, Matsuda couldn't help but dance with her. At least until Misa interrupted them.

"Hey!" she bellowed, waving her arms in an attempt to catch the others' attention. "Roo's gotta open her presents!"

Light raised an eyebrow as Hikaru and Matsuda stopped dancing. "No one else got her presents but you, Misa," he informed her, quickly glancing at Hikaru for a reaction expressing disappointment.

But the ebony-haired girl was joyful anyway. "You got me a present, Misa?" she exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement. She glanced around the room anxiously in search of it. "Where is it?"

Misa grinned and turned on her heel, running to the table that held the cake and picking up a box that was behind it. "Here it is!" she sang, making her way back to the small group and handing the box to Hikaru.

The other girl grinned and nodded her thanks. Without wasting any time, she quickly threw the top off of the box and stared at the inside of it, eyes wide in surprise.

Since the box was turned toward Hikaru, the others couldn't see the contents. "What is it, Hikaru-san?" Ryuzaki asked curiously, taking a step closer to her and looking over her shoulder.

"It's...it's..." Struggling to get the words out of her mouth, Hikaru decided to show it to the others instead. Her cheeks red in a blush, she held up a lacy black bra by the straps, avoiding everyone's eyes—especially Ryuzaki's.

"Misa!" Light scolded, his cheeks suddenly matching the colour of Hikaru's. He took a step toward the raven-haired girl, planning on taking the bra away from her, but thought better of it. "Misa, why in the _world_ would you give Hikaru lingerie?"

The blonde smiled nonchalantly, rocking back and forth on her heels. "Because, Light, Misa thought that if Roo had sexy nightwear, she'd get a boyfriend easier!"

Hikaru placed the bra back into the box and tossed the container to the ground. "Great logic, Misa. Except for the fact that _I'm not a whore_!" She placed herself in front of the blonde, hands on her hips. "How would wearing lingerie help me get a boyfriend?"

Cheeks pink in a light blush, Matsuda nervously raised his hand. "W-what if you got a boyfriend in _here_?" he offered timidly, the words slowly coming out of his mouth. "I-I mean, there are three single guys in the task force..."

"What?" she growled, giving an anger-fuelled glare to the older man. "No! No way in _hell_ am I gonna date Ryu—" She threw her hands over her mouth quickly, before she could continue. Her cheeks turned pink again, as a sudden thought occurred to her: she had almost said Ryuzaki's name.

Said detective was currently ignoring Hikaru's heated words and instead was focusing his attention on her discarded box on the ground. He had never seen anything like the clothing that was being contained inside it, and he was curious. Stooping down, he gently grabbed the bra straps and held them between his fingers, carefully watching the large cups. Ryuzaki was amazed by the fabric as he ran his thumb over the lace. He then tossed the bra to the side and picked up the panties still in the box; they were black as well, but softer than the bra—Ryuzaki guessed they were made of silk. He glanced at Hikaru, who was now shouting at Matsuda, and decided to rub the panties against his cheek.

"There's no way I'd da—" Hikaru stopped mid-sentence as she noticed Ryuzaki's movements. Her face turned red instantly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed, bending down and ripping the panties from his fingers. "That's my _underwear_, you pervert!" Hikaru then stood up and glared at Matsuda. "That's why I can't date anyone here!" Continuing, she turned to face Misa. "And that's why you shouldn't get me lingerie for my birthday!"

Misa bit her lip, almost regretting her choice in gift. "Misa's sorry, Roo. I thought you'd like it..."

Hikaru sighed, finally calming down. "It's...okay, Misa. Just don't do it again." Without waiting for a response, she went to her computer and clicked on a new song, immediately catching Light's attention.

"_Angie, I know you.  
"I said you know it's true.  
"Please don't ask me to believe.  
"Baby, I got you,  
"'Cos I always knew you were just having fun (having fun)."_

The brunette gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing at the lyrics. He glanced at Ryuzaki, who in turn nodded slightly at him.

Another name: Angie.

* * *

The songs in this chapter were "Shake It" by Metro Station and "Angie" by Cobra Starship. If you would, please excuse my poor taste in music from two years ago. :-)


	17. Night

Sorry for the delay! I was on vacation without any internet, but I was able to type up a lot of the chapters that come after this, so they should be coming pretty quickly. Please enjoy!

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Chapter seventeen – Night

"_Tonight, we lie awake,  
"Remember all the coffee you made.  
"A shake on those long drives  
"For one more long night."_

The song was the only noise in the room, and even that was very quiet. Hikaru was lying in bed, her face buried in her pillow. It seemed that work—or play—had worn her out.

"Man, I can't _take_ this anymore!" she grumbled to herself, tossing and turning under the covers. Even though she was tired, she didn't want to sleep; her mind was fully awake.

Hikaru got out of bed—not even bothering to change out of her cute, bra-less pajamas—and wandered her way to the elevator, down to where the others were most likely investigating. But when she arrived, she was surprised to see that only Ryuzaki was in the room. She blushed instantly, realising just then that she wasn't wearing a bra, and decided that she didn't want a pervert like _him_ to see her without one. Turning around, she started heading back to the entrance, but was interrupted as Ryuzaki spoke.

"I already know you're there, Hikaru-san, so it makes no difference if you back to your room and change."

Damn him, he'd caught her. Grumbling, Hikaru headed down the stairs, crossing her arms over her chest in an attempt to feel better about being bra-less. She placed herself next to where Ryuzaki was sitting and looked over his shoulder at the computer screen. "Still working, huh?"

"Yes," he replied simply. "There is much work to be done if Kira is to be caught as quickly as possible." He continued to focus on the screen in front of him, instead of the girl beside him. She was really quite charming with the way she could waltz into a room without a bra and only be embarrassed for a mere minute. Ryuzaki had to give her props for that.

Hikaru placed her hand on the back of his chair, sighing in boredom. "Don't you _ever_ sleep, Ryuzaki?" she asked, her voice filled with an irritated tone.

He turned his head slightly, so he could see her a bit better. "The act of sleeping takes too much time. Why would I sleep when I could be busy finding Kira's identity?"

Hikaru sighed again, letting her body drop in broken anticipation. "Fine, I'll let you be all arrogant and big-headed now, Ryuzaki, but I'll make you sleep one day," she said with a grin.

Ryuzaki let a small smile appear on his lips. "I accept your challenge, Hikaru-san," he murmured. "But I'd like to have you know that I'm a professional at pulling all-nighters. Do you know what you're up against?"

The ebony-haired girl shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest again. "You're hopeless, Ryuzaki," she said as her grin widened. With that, she turned around and headed up the stairs, making her way down the hall and to the kitchen. When she had reached it, she went inside and opened the refrigerator, searching for something—anything—sweet. Hikaru's eyes scanned the inside of the fridge until she found a piece of strawberry shortcake, left over from her birthday. Her face brightened, and she removed the plate from the fridge, making her way back to the main investigation room. Hopping down the steps and to Ryuzaki's place in front of his computer, Hikaru presented the cake in front of him. "Here you go, Ryuzaki," she said cheerfully, looking onto him with a smile.

Ryuzaki looked up, his eyes instantly going to the piece of cake beside him. "Oh. Cake." He took it from her and immediately placed a bite into his mouth. "Thank you, Hikaru-san. What inspired you to give me cake though?"

"Oh, no reason..." Hikaru murmured, her cheeks turning somewhat darker. "I just... You don't have anything sweet, and you said it yourself, it's easier to think with sugar..." She avoided Ryuzaki's eyes as she looked away from him.

He looked up at Hikaru's face as her voice got quieter, taking in the blush in her cheeks as a sign of embarrassment. Again? Was it because she had done something nice for him? He ate another bite of cake as he took Hikaru's hand and squeezed it, smiling at her softly. "Thank you for remembering, Hikaru-san."

"Eh?" Her head snapped back to look at him, her cheeks darkening to a deeper red at his action. "R-Ryuzaki!" Hikaru hissed, pulling her hand away from him and holding it against her chest. "You can't just take my hand like that! Your..." She looked down at her own hands, the blush reddening again: Ryuzaki's hands were extremely soft. Hikaru shook her head and looked away from him. "Just..._forget_ it, Ryuzaki," she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm going back to bed." And with that, she headed up the stairs and to the elevator.

Ryuzaki kept his focus on Hikaru as she left the room. Maybe grabbing her hand had been a bit too _forward_. He shrugged it off, taking another bite of cake. The thing was...he couldn't get over how _cute_ Hikaru was when she blushed.

Another hour passed by before Light entered the room, quickly making his way to his seat and turning on his computer. Not wasting any time, he turned to Ryuzaki, feeling the need to discuss something with him. "So, Ryuzaki...out of the two names Hikaru has given us, which do you think is the most likely?"

The panda-man glanced at the brunette, his thumb immediately moving between his lips. "Hn. I would have to say that Hikaru-san seems more like a Juliet than an Angie, but it's very doubtful that she would actually reveal her name to us within the first two."

That was a good point. Light nodded in agreement at Ryuzaki's explanation. It seemed that they would have to wait until Hikaru played more songs with girls' names in them.

Ryuzaki glanced at the other from the corner of his eye. "Why does Hikaru-san's name matter to you so much, Light-kun?"

Light froze at Ryuzaki's question. Had it been that obvious to him? He let a small smile creep onto his lips, in a slight attempt to cure his nervousness. "Hikaru's presenting a challenge to us, but not to the task force as a whole. It's apparent that it's only toward me and you, Ryuzaki, because she knows we have the intelligence and logic to catch on as quickly as we did."

"It's interesting that you bring that up, Light-kun, because that's just what I was thinking." Ryuzaki began chewing on his thumbnail. "We'll just have to show her that she can't underestimate us as a team."

"Y-yeah," Light replied, now feeling slightly defensive. That was a lie, and it was obvious; Ryuzaki had asked him that earlier question because he was testing the brunette and trying to catch him off-guard. Well, that was just too bad. "We can beat her easily." And that was his truth.


	18. Different

Chapter eighteen – Different

By late June, like it currently was, Hikaru and her friend would usually be lounging at each others' houses, celebrating the end of school—in this case, their graduation from high school. But this year, there was no such fun for the American graduate. No, instead, there had been shouting matches and misunderstandings, far too many to count within the three and a half months since Hikaru had met Light, Misa, Ryuzaki and the rest of the task force. But she had to admit, the time that she had spent with them all had been entertaining, to say the least.

"Why don't you and Misa watch a movie?" Misa suggested as she lay on her back on Hikaru's bed.

Said girl sighed, leaning back in the chair she was sitting in. "I dunno, Misa. I'm not really one for movies..." She glanced at one of the posters on the wall; this one was labelled "All Time Low." "Oh, Alexander William Gaskarth, what would you do?" Hikaru pleaded to the man in the middle.

Misa laughed nervously. "Well, um, what about you and Ryuzaki watch one together?"

"Huh?" Caught off-guard, Hikaru's cheeks turned a light red at Misa's offer. "N-no, I don't think Ryuzaki would want to watch a movie. I mean, all he does is think about the Kira case..."

"But," the blonde protested, "Misa's sure that if it were with you, Ryuzaki would _definitely_ want to see it! You're so pretty, Roo, and cute and smart and funny—"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Hikaru sweatdropped at Misa's rambling of her good qualities. "But I'm not exactly sure Ryuzaki thinks I'm pretty, or funny, or even slightly cute." She sighed in disappointment.

Misa bit her lip, looking onto her friend with a slight sadness. "Well," she said after a moment, her face brightening a bit, "the only way to know that for sure is to ask him!" She jumped off the bed and pulled Hikaru off her chair. "Ask him, ask him, Roo!"

It seemed that Misa wouldn't stop pestering her until Hikaru went through with it. Sighing, the younger girl crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine, Misa...I'll go ask him."

xx

"Hey, Ryuzaki?"

Slightly startled, the panda-man looked at the girl who had addressed him so suddenly. Since she was avoiding his eyes, he would have guessed that she was uncomfortable or, more likely, embarrassed. "Yes? What is it, Hikaru-san?"

Hikaru paused before answering, glancing at the others currently in the main investigation room. Unfortunately, she and Ryuzaki were stuck with the three oldest men of the task force—the one who would bitch her out. "Well, I was wondering...would you want to watch a movie with me tonight?"

Ryuzaki continued to watch her, dark eyes scanning her face for answers. Why would she ask him this? Unless she was being sincere and not playing games with him—that would also explain why she wasn't meeting his gaze. But still, why ask _him_? Light would be a better choice, since movie-watching was typically for social, outgoing people. Not people like Ryuzaki. But before the messy-haired detective could answer, Aizawa interrupted. Of course.

"You can't take Ryuzaki away from the Kira case!" he informed, his eyebrows furrowed in irritation. "That's what we're all here for, Hikaru, not stupid teenage dates!"

Immediately, Hikaru's cheeks turned a light shade of crimson. He thought she was asking Ryuzaki on a _date_? She shook her head furiously, her face darkening every moment. "N-no, Aizawa-san, I'm not asking Ryuzaki out on a date..."

Said detective took this opportunity to make an excuse for the defenceless girl beside him. "Aizawa-san, Hikaru-san offered to watch a movie with me, knowing that I need a break from the Kira case. If one keeps their mind on something for too long, one gets frustrated and begins running in circles." Without waiting for an answer, Ryuzaki turned to Hikaru. "I would be honoured to watch a movie with you, Hikaru-san," he said, a small smile on his face.

Hikaru jumped up in a rush. "Really, Ryuzaki?" she squealed, hopping up and down in excitement. Without realising it, the blush in her cheeks had slowly disappeared. "Okay, well, it's gonna be in my room and I'm gonna start it at nine, so don't be late!" she playfully scolded, sweatdropping a bit.

There was a sudden silence.

"Um, so...I'll see you later, Ryuzaki," Hikaru murmured, the blush in her cheeks coming back strong. With that, she turned on her heel, excited yet hesitant, to inform Misa about Ryuzaki's accepting answer.

xx

By the time nine o'clock rolled around, Hikaru had changed into a pair of brightly coloured striped pajama pants, a white shirt that bore the words "The Hush Sound," and covering the shirt was a grey hoodie that read "From First To Last." The outfit wardrobe change wasn't exactly necessary, but she would feel more content in comfortable clothing.

A few minutes after the hour, Hikaru heard the familiar sound of a card key going in and out of a slot, followed by the opening of a door. Ryuzaki then stepped into the room, giving a bow to the girl sitting on the bed. "Good evening, Hikaru-san," he murmured, making his way over to her. He immediately noticed that she had changed her outfit, but didn't need to ask any questions; it was obviously an issue of comfort. "What movie will we be watching tonight?" he asked, climbing onto the bed and perching himself next to her.

Hikaru smiled slightly as she hopped off the bed and placed a disk in her DVD player. "I wasn't sure about which one to get, but I decided on _One Missed Call_," she replied, sitting back on the bed. "It's a horror film, the one where people are dying through cell phones." Hikaru glanced at Ryuzaki and smiled sheepishly. "Though...I've heard it's kind of gruesome..."

"It can't be any more gruesome than any of the cases that I've solved," Ryuzaki countered, placing his focus on the girl beside him. This statement, of course, would imply that he was L, and that was exactly what he was aiming for. It was basically common knowledge that Hikaru hadn't been focusing on the Kira case, and Ryuzaki had let that slide. But presently, he wanted to test her and determined whether she would keep her word about what she believed, about Ryuzaki being L only if Light was Kira.

As predicted, Hikaru looked up at him, appearing slightly confused. Why was he bringing this up now? She bit her lip and turned away from the detective. "So, are you basically saying that you're L, Ryuzaki?" she asked softly, avoiding his eyes. She wasn't exactly a fan of Light, but if he was Kira...

"Yes, I am," Ryuzaki mumbled, focusing his attention onto the blank television screen. "But unlike Light-kun, or _Kira_, my confession won't give me an execution sentence. In fact—"

"Ryuzaki, can we please just watch the movie?" Hikaru pleaded, grabbing the remote and turning the television on. It was clear that even if the panda-man answered, she wouldn't have cared what he said.

He got up and quickly turned the lights off. The film started soon after, and within the first ten minute Ryuzaki, using hi famous reasoning skills, had determined who the killer was—but he wouldn't tell Hikaru that had figured it out, only because he knew she would get angry at him. But as the movie progressed, Ryuzaki could sense that she was a bit shaky. Turning away from the television, he scanned her face. "Are you feeling okay, Hikaru-san?"

Hikaru bit her lip and stared at the television screen. "Y-y-yeah, I'm fine!" she insisted, cracking a nervous smile. "I-I watch scary movies all the time..."

Scary movie? She'd referred to it as a "horror film" earlier. Ryuzaki continued to watch her in slight concern, trying to specify what, exactly, was eating at her. Which was difficult until the television, which had been halfway quiet for the past few minutes, burst into the sound of at least a dozen people shrieking. Loudly.

Without a second thought, Hikaru screamed, throwing her arms around Ryuzaki's neck and burying her face into his chest, trying her best to hide from the murderous scene.

Unsure of what to do, the panda-detective watched her, completely startled. So she had been _terrified_ of the movie! But because he had questioned her about the Kira case, Ryuzaki hadn't known how she felt about horror films. Though, now it was fairly obvious... What could he do with her? A girl who was scared stiff and shaking was attached to him, and it wasn't like he could use words to console her. So, Ryuzaki took an alternative, something he had seen Light do to Misa many times: He wrapped his arms around Hikaru's shoulders and hugged her closely to him, rubbing her back comfortingly.

Hikaru gasped, feeling Ryuzaki' hand against her body. She froze, completely shocked, and yet, he still continued to console her, his fingers travelling down her back in the most gentle way.

She bit her lip, embarrassed at how she had reacted, and what her current situation now. Her cheeks turned pink, and without a second thought, she pressed her face against his chest, taking in the scent of his shirt. He smelled like a mixture of flower and ink. The scent made her head reel, and she gripped his shirt, getting closer to him and closing her eyes.

"Hikaru-san?"

Her eyes shot open and she looked up at the panda-detective, whose own eyes were filled with curiosity. "Um...yes, Ryuzaki?" Her cheeks were now tainted with red as she realised what she had just been doing.

"Are you all right now?" Ryuzaki asked simply as he gazed at her face. Red cheeks... She was embarrassed again? From what: how she had reacted to the film, or her current position? Hikaru's cheeks showed embarrassment, her eyes were...pleading? For what? Forgiveness for her reaction? That had to be it. There'd be nothing else to forgive...right?

She nodded, biting her lip again, and let go of his shirt, cheeks flaring. "Uh-huh...I'm okay." She looked away from him then, toward the ground. "I'm..._really_ sorry, Ryuzaki. I didn't think I was gonna freak out like that, or else I wouldn't have chosen that one."

"Don't worry about it, Hikaru-san," he replied, reaching over to her and patting her hand. "I'm relieved that you weren't watching it alone. I can only imagine what would have happened then."

Hikaru blushed again, nodding in agreement and smiling sheepishly. "Y-yeah, I probably would have killed someone." She stopped what she was talking about and went pale at the thought. "Um, no. Not really..." What was she going on about?

Ryuzaki tilted his head slightly, but a small smile came to his lips. "I know what you mean, Hikaru-san. If you thought I would suspect you as being Kira at this point in time, it would be a very misleading assumption. I know for a fact that you are not Kira." He leaned toward her then, his face dangerously close to hers, and said, "You're much too good a person to even associate yourself with Kira."

Her breath caught in her throat a Ryuzaki made his statement. His face was so close; she could feel his breath on her cheek, and what he said... She stood up and got off the bed, her cheeks burning. "W-well, it's getting late, huh? I should probably get some sleep, seeing as how late it is. Ha, I already said that, didn't I?" Hikaru ran to the door and threw it open, an obvious motion of, "Ryuzaki—GET THE HELL OUT."

The panda-man smiled to himself as he climbed off the bed and made his way to the door. Judging by her cheeks, she was embarrassed about something again. And judging by her erratic behaviour, this "something" was huge, and was now weighing down on her mind. As he approached the door, And Hikaru, he gave her a small smile. "All right, Hikaru-san," he murmured, catching her bright blue eyes with his own dark ones. "If you have any nightmares, you know where to find me." And with that, he left the room, leaving Hikaru to shut it behind him.

She pressed her back against the door and slumped to the ground, suddenly feeling drained of all her energy. "What just happened...?" Everything looked the same—the bed, the posters on the wall, even the TV that was still on. Hikaru rested her head on her knees, a blush still warm in her cheeks. "Everything's different now..."

* * *

Things are finally getting a move on~


End file.
